^yrw 


J  3^ 


ON 


~      f. 


LA  SALLE 


Valley  oi^^  Tin:  St.  Joseph 


AN  HLSTORICAL  FRAGMP:NT. 


:^f^± 


Charles  H.  Bartlett,  (HT)  ^  ^^ 

I'liEsiuENT  Northern  Indiana  Historical  Society.  ■'    Ty  >i-.  / 

AND 

Richard   H.  Lvox, 

Associate  Kditor  South  Bend  Tribune. 


^NlONlj 


Tribune  Printing  Company, 

South  Bend,  Ind. 

1899. 


h    ■  \ 


Y 


r 


^* 


COPYRIGHT 
BY    THE    TKIBUNK    PKINTING    CO 

1899. 


C  77 


Descriptive. 

When  the  plans  for  the  construction  of  the 
St.  Joseph  County,  Indiana,  court  house,  built 
in  the  city  of  South  Bend  in  1897-98,  were  com- 
pleted, it  was  found  that  no  provision  had  been 
made  for  the  decoration  of  two  large  lunettes 
under  the  big  dome,  and  over  the  entrances  to 
the  court  rooms,  on  the  second  floor  rotunda. 
It  was  suggested  by  the  authors  of  this  "  Frag- 
ment "  that  these  spaces,  each  sixteen  feet  by 
eight  feet  in  size,  be  utilized  to  commemorate 
events  connected  with  the  county's  early  his- 
tory, and  the  suggestion  met  the  hearty  approv- 
al of  the  County  Commissioners,  who  included 
in  the  contract  for  the  decoration  of  the  interior 
of  the  building,  the  painting  of  two  historical 
scenes,  the  details  of  which  were  to  be  fur- 
nished the  artists  by  the  writers  hereof. 

The  two  most  important  events  connected 
with  the  life  of  the  intrepid  French  explorer, 
La.Salle,  in  his  \isits  to  this  region  220  years 
ago,  were  selected,  and  from  this  beginning 
have  developed  the  magnificent  paintings, 
""  La.Salle   at   the   Portage,   December  5,    1679," 


aiul  "  LaSalK'  at  ihc  Miaiiii  Trraly,  .Ma>-,  1681." 
A  halt-toiu'  rc'jji'oduction  of  thr  first  nanu'd 
tOnns  the  frontispiece  of  this  work  and  one  of 
the  latteM"  the  center-piece. 

The  time  of  the  former  is  al)out  sunset  at  the 
old  portai^e  landin.i;-,  two  miles  below  the  city 
of  South  Bend,  on  the  St.  Joseph  ri\er,  and 
shows  the  reunion  of  the  explorer's  party  after 
LaSalle's  return  from  nearly  two  da>'s'  wander- 
ing in  the  wilderness  hereabouts.  The  central 
figures  are  LaSalle,  his  dexoted  lieutenant, 
Tont}',  Father  Hennepin,  the  Franciscan  Friar, 
and  the  sturdy  Mohican  hunter. 

In  the  second  picture.  LaSalle  is  represented 
at  his  famous  treaty  with  the  Miami  Indians  on 
Portage  Prairie,  two  miles  west  of  South  Bend, 
the  explorer  and  the  head  chief  of  the  tribe  in 
the  foreground,  both  in  the  court  dress  appropri- 
ate for  state  occasions  of  this  kind.  The  time 
of  the  day  is  about  lO  o'clock  in  the  forenoon. 

The  gathering  of  the  details  for  these  paint- 
ings has  been  an  interesting  though  laborious 
and  not  a  little  expensixe  task.  The  best  of 
authorities  of  ancient  and  modern  times  have 
been  consulted,  and  the  form,  features  and  cos- 
tuming of  all  the  figures  represented  may  be 
relied  upon  as  historically  correct,  while  the 
grouping  and  coloring  displays  the  genius  of  the 
true  artist.  The  paintings  were  executed  in  the 
studio  of  H.  F.  Huber  &  Co.,  New  York.  b\-  Mr. 


Arthur  Thomas,  an  artist  who  has  made  histor- 
ical subjects  a  life  study,  and  who  has  gi\en 
his  best  skill  to  these  works.  The  paintings 
meet  the  full  approval  of  the  architects  of  the 
court  house,  Messrs.  Shepley,  Rutan  &  Cool- 
idge,  of  Boston,  Mass.;  of  the  Board  of  County 
Commissioners,  Messrs.  Samuel  Bowman,  Peter 
H.  Reaves  and  John  D.  Fulmer,  and  their  legal 
adviser,  Hon.  A.  L.  Brick;  of  the  Advisory 
Committee,  Messrs.  Clem  Studebaker,  J.  D. 
Oliver,  Elmer  Crockett,  P.  O'Brien  and  J.  B. 
Stoll;  of  the  Northern  Indiana  Historical  Soci- 
ety, and  of  all  who  ha\'e  been  pri^•ileged  to  look 
upon  them.  The  story  that  inspired  them, 
"LaSalle  in  the  Valley  of  the  St.  Joseph,"  is 
fully  told  in  the  succeeding  pages  of  this 
volume. 

C.   H.  B. 

R.  H.  L. 

South  Bend,  Ind., 


PHOTO  BY  W.  B.  STOVER. 

IN    LA  SALLE    PARK. 


Preface. 

In  the  li\;ht  of  present  knowledge,  it  is  not 
possible  to  assert  beyond  all  cian<j;"er  of  cavil 
whether  this  or  that  particular  Canadian  French- 
man first  beheld  the  banks  of  the  St.  Joseph. 
Some  ha\e  thou<.,dit  that  Father  Claude  Allouez, 
a  Jesuit  priest  and  missionary,  first  knew  of  our 
ri\er.  Some  have  supposed  that  Father  Mar- 
quette once  journeyed  this  way.  But  that  either 
of  them  was  entitled  to  the  honor  of  discovery, 
is  purely  a  matter  of  conjecture.  It  does, 
indeed,  seem  not  unlikely  that  Allouez,  who 
was  with  the  Miami  Indians  in  1672,  should 
ha\'e  followed  them  from  their  Wisconsin  home 
when  they  migrated  to  this  valley.  He  was 
certainly  here  at  a  later  date,  devoting  the  clos- 
ing years  of  his  life  to  the  work  of  the  mission 
on  the  St.  Joseph,  where  he  died  in  1690.  But 
in  the  case  of  Father  Marquette,  there  is  not 
even  good  ground  for  conjecture,  unless  it  be  in 
the  wish  which  we  all  share  that  the  benison  of 
a  presence  so  gentle  and  gracious  might  have 
expressed  the  white  man's  first  salutation  to 
the  bluffs  and  pebbly  strands  of  our  river. 
Then,  there  are  the  two  adventurers,  Radisson 

7 


and  Des  Groscillicrs,  who  exj^licitly  declare 
that  they  themselxcs  xisited  this  i-ntirc  rci^ion 
as  early  as  1659.  This  statement,  however,  is 
not  Generally  believed  by  the  historians.  Some 
of  the  latter  are  probably  not  far  from  the  truth 
in  their  intimation  that  many  of  the  obscure 
Canadian  \oyageurs,  in  pursuit  of  the  traffic  in 
furs,  and  the  wild  coureurs  de  bois,  while  livino- 
with  the  Indians,  may  have  been  here  before 
all  others  without  leaving  any  record  of  their 
exploits.  But  if  we  are  to  satisfy  ourselves  with 
the  positive  assertions  of  unquestioned  history, 
we  must  credit  the  discovery  of  the  St.  Joseph 
and  the  Kankakee  rivers  to  the  hero  famous  in 
American  annals  under  the  name  of  LaSalle. 
His  coming  was  late  in  the  fall  of  1679.  A 
brief  epitome  of  his  career  previous  to  that  date 
may  help  us  to  keep  in  mind  the  motives  that 
prompted  his  expedition  and  the  circumstances 
that  made  it  possible. 


LA  SALLE,  THE    EXPLORER. 


LA    SALLE    AT    22. 


LaSalle,  the  Explorer. 


A  fair  and  famous 
city  in  the  north  of 
France  ga\e  LaSalle 
to  the  world.  Rouen, 
on  the  picturesque 
Seine,  not  far  from 
the  sea,  was  noted  in 
ancient  times  as  Nor- 
mandy's capital.  In 
the  sacristy  of  one  of 
her  old  cathedrals  is 
preserved  the  heart 
of  Richard  Cceur  de 
Lion,  and  in  her  pub- 
lic market  place, 
many  centuries  ago,  Joan  of  Arc  met  death  at 
the  stake.  Modern  Rouen  is  known  as  the 
leading  city  of  France  in  industrial  enter- 
prises. 

LaSalle,  born  in  1643,  ^^'^^^  'I  child  of  luxur\'. 
His  father,  Jean  Cavelier.  a  rich  merchant  and 
land  owner,  belonged   to  an  old,  influential  and 

11 


aristocratic  family,  but  oiu:  dct^rcc  below  tlu- 
I^'rcnch  nol)ility.  The  son  was  christened 
Robert  Cavelicr  Sicur  de  LaSalle,  the  final 
name  gi\'en  him  in  honor  of  a  big  landed  estate 
of  the  faniil)',  in  accordance  with  a  custom 
amon,^-  the  wealthy  French  burghers. 

The  boy  early  displayed  intellectual  gifts  of 
a  high  order  and  he  was  gi\-en  a  first-class  edu- 
cation. He  was  reserved,  dignified,  studious, 
and  he  improved  his  opportunities  to  the 
utmost.  It  is  told  that  he  was  especially  pro- 
ficient in  mathematics  and  in  the  exact  sciences. 
While  he  was  a  mild-mannered  youth,  he  early 
exhibited  the  traits  of  determination  and  inde- 
pendence characteristic  of  his  later  years.  In 
the  face  of  losing  his  inheritance  to  his  father's 
rich  estate,  he  joined  the  order  of  the  Jesuits  to 
become  a  priest;  but  when  he  discovered  that 
his  temperament  was  not  at  all  conducive  to 
that  calling,  he  left  the  order.  Yet  he  was 
always  considered  a  good  Catholic. 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  1666,  that  LaSalle, 
just  arri\ed  from  France,  presented  himself  at 
the  door  of  the  Canadian  Seminary  of  St.  Sul- 
pice,  in  the  compact  little  village  which  has 
since  become  the  city  of  Montreal.  This  young 
man  was  fortunate  enough  to  obtain  what  he 
sought  from  the  priests  of  St.  Sulpice,  the  gra- 
tuitous grant  of  a  large  tract  of  their  wild  land. 
The  erant  bordered   on   the   St.  Lawrence  and 


was  situated  at  a  jjoiiit  up  the  rixcr.  some  niiu' 
miles  from  the  SiMninar\-  settK'ment.  LaSalle 
began  at  once  to  clear  the  land,  to  mark  the 
metes  and  bounds  for  a  xillage  and  to  erect  for 
himself  a  house  and  storas^e  building's;  for,  he 
meant  to  engage  in  the  fur  trade,  and  to  use 
this  estate  as  a  base  of  supplies  and  a  point  ot 
vantage  from  which  he  might  take  part  in  the 
exploration  of  the  \ast  interior  of  our  continent. 
He  had  come  here  with  such  purposes  fixed  in 
his  mind.  His  ambition  had  caught  fire  from 
the  \-ague  rumors  and  startling  theories  which 
at  that  time  supplied  the  French  public  with 
much  entertainment  and  excited  the  lixeliest 
interest  in  their  new-world  possessions  The 
Indians  had  told  the  Canadians  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  the  latter  had  assured  the  people  at 
home,  that  the  great  river  surely  flowed  into 
the  Pacific  ocean;  and  the  people  at  home  had 
developed  strong  hopes  that  the  Mississippi 
might  prove  to  be  a  practical  highway  over 
which  France  would  sustain  commercial  inter- 
course with  China.  LaSalle  could  have  a  part 
in  the  enterprise  which  such  a  prospect  seemed 
to  inxite.  Applying  himself  at  once  to  the 
study  of  the  Indian  languages,  he  was  soon 
reach'  to  begin  his  explorations.  The  latter 
were  conducted  first  through  the  country  at  the 
north.  Finding  this  of  little  interest,  he  turned 
to  the  south  and  is  beliexed  to  ha\e  been  the  first 


whitf  man  on  the  ()hi()ancl  to  haw  followed  the 
coursr  of  this  v'wvv  as  far  as  the  site-  of  Louisville. 
The  endurance  of  supreme  hardships  and  the 
sur\i\al  of  j^reat  danj^'ers  emboldened  LaSalk- 
to  set  up  a  new  establishment  still  dee))e-r  in 
the  wilderness.  He  desired  the  command  of 
Fort  Frontenac,  then  being  built  by  the  gox- 
ernor  at  the  \ery  head  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and 
on  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Ontario  To  secure 
such  a  prize,  one  so  necessary  to  his  plans,  he 
went  to  France.  He  was  well  received  at  court 
and  the  idea  of  his  projected  enterprises  pro\'ed 
so  captixating  to  the  king  that  the  latter  gave 
him  the  seigniory  of  Fort  Frontenac,  wuth  the 
militar)'  command  of  the  place,  and  bestowed 
on  him  patents  authorizing  his  trade  w^ith  the 
Lidians  and  the  exploration  of  the  lakes  and 
the  western  country.  He  was  willing  to  bear 
the  expense  of  these  explorations,  trusting  to 
the  fur  trade  for  reimbursement.  His  plans 
required  e\"en  a  second  trip  to  F'rance.  And 
this  time  he  secured  a  monopoly  of  the  trade 
in  buffalo  hides  and  the  authority  to  build  new 
forts  in  the  western  countr\'  which  he  should 
explore.  He  now  borrowed  large  sums  of 
mone^^  which  his  favor  at  court  enabled  him  to 
do.  He  purchased  and  brought  back  with  him 
supplies  for  the  building  and  equipment  of  two 
ships,  one  to  sail  the  upper  lakes  and  one  for 
the  waters  tributary'  to  the  Mississippi. 


ON    THE   LAKES. 


1 

£ 

1 

1 

* 

1 

Wi 

* 

O      ^- 


On  the  Lakes. 

And  so,  we  find  LaSalle,  in  the  winter  and 
sprini^  of  1679,  at  the  mouth  of  a  creek  that 
empties  into  Niaj^ara  ri\er  some  miles  above 
the  falls.  The  materials  for  the  two  ships  had 
been  dragged  up  the  heights  that  line  the  river 
and  carried  a  distance  of  more  than  12  miles, 
where  a  suitable  place  for  ship  building  had 
been  found.  Here  the  keel  of  the  "Griffin"  was 
laid,  a  vessel  of  forty-five  tons  burden.  The 
work  all  clone  and  the  ecjuipmcnt  completed,  it 
was  August  before  the  vessel  was  drawn  up 
into  Lake  Erie.  The  building  of  the  ship  was 
a  matter  of  intense  interest  to  the  Indians,  who 
thronged  the  banks  where  the  hull  was  finally 
launched  and  who  were  consumed  with  wonder 
down  to  the  moment  when  the  rejoicing  crew, 
ha\ing  spread  the  great  sails,  boomed  their  five 
little  cannon,  sang  their  Te  Deum,  sped  away 
with  a  free  furrow  and  held  their  course  through 
the  \-ery  midst  of  the  inland  sea. 

To  the  mouth  of  Detroit  rixer  came  the  little 
ship  and  in  due  time  Huron's  beautiful  expanse 
received  the  adventurous  band.  But  Lake 
Huron  was  not  in  a  mood  to  submit  tamely  to 

17 


the  white  man's  conquest  of  these  ancient 
soh'tudcs.  A  fierce  squall  arose.  The  pilot 
swore  and  the  otiiers  prayt-'ti  to  the  saints,  and 
through  their  mutual  endea\-ors,  the  frail  bark 
outrode  the  storm.  They  reached  the  Straits 
of  Mackinac  in  safety  and  made  fast  their 
anchor  at  Point  St.  Ig-nace,  where  Father  Mar- 
quette's mission  house  then  stood.  The  priests 
and  their  IncUans  came  down  to  the  shore  with 
words  of  welcome  and  tenders  of  hospitality. 
It  was  a  state  occasion  with  LaSalle.  Clad  in 
a  court  costume  of  scarlet,  all  gorgeous  with 
gold  lace — this  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians — 
he.  with  his  little  group  of  followers,  issued 
forth  from  their  "floating  fort."  While  the 
surrounding  woods  echoed  with  the  discharge 
of  their  musketry,  they  unfolded  to  the  gaze  of 
the  simple  nativ^es  the  banner  of  France  with 
the  arms  of  Louis  XIV.  These  functions  dis- 
charged, they  went  up  the  rising  ground  with 
the  priests  to  the  chapel  and  knelt  before  the 
altar. 

Long  before  this  voyage  of  the  "Griffin," 
LaSalle  had  sent  his  agents  to  this  locality  to 
gather  furs  through  the  surrounding  country. 
He  now  learned  that  a  few  of  them  who  had 
remained  true  to  his  interests  were  at  Green 
Bay,  where  a  \'aluable  cargo  awaited  the  coming 
of  the  ship.  The  "Griffin"  was  accordingly 
sent  forward  to  gather  these  first  fruits  of  their 


enterprise,  while  LaSalle,  with  fourteen  men, 
embarked  in  canoes  and  followed  the  vessel. 
Tonty,  with  another  di\ision  of  the  party,  was 
to  keep  to  the  east  coast  of  Lake  Michigan. 
The  "Griffin,"  laden  with  the  furs,  was  ordered 
back  to  the  head  of  Lake  Eric  with  the  strict 
injunction  that  its  precious  cargo  should  be 
conveyed  to  the  block-house,  at  the  mouth  of 
Niagara  ri\er,  and  that  a  return  as  speedy  as 
possible  should  then  be  made  to  the  southern 
extremity  of  Lake  Michigan.  LaSalle  and  his 
men  set  out  with  their  canoes  and  followed  the 
west  coast  of  the  lake  past  the  mouth  of  Chicago 
river  and  around  the  southern  coast.  It  was  a 
most  tempestuous  \-oyage,  as  one  on  Lake 
Michigan  at  that  season  of  the  year  is  apt  to  be. 
It  might  seem  that  our  hero  had  thus  far 
found  an  easy  and  smooth  path.  But  the  truth 
was  otherwise.  Indeed,  he  was  one  of  those 
unfortunate  mortals  who  find  their  advance 
contested  at  every  step.  His  success  excited 
the  jealousy  of  powerful  rivals,  since  it  seemed 
to  threaten  the  prosperity  of  their  own  cause. 
The  Jesuits  had  entered  this  western  world  and 
desired  to  remain  the  sole  masters  of  its  destiny. 
LaSalle  was  partial  to  other  orders,  the  Recol- 
lects, the  Sulpitians,  the  Franciscans.  And 
then,  too,  he  was  a  fur  trader,  although  very 
different  from  most  of  his  class.  This  class  was 
one  which  exerted  a  most  baneful  influence  at 

19 


the  missions,  almost  wholly  subverting  the  work 
of  the  church.  Where  the  seed  of  faith  had 
been  j)lantc'd  throu<4h  the  Ion,!,''  and  painful 
labors  of  the  devoted  missionary,  it  was  dis- 
tressing in  the  last  degree,  if  not  exasperating, 
to  see  the  first  tender  leaf  of  the  savages'  new 
aspiration  torn  and  uprooted  through  the  gross 
immorality  of  the  fur  trader  and  his  lewd  and 
sottish  companions.  The  Jesuits  deemed  it 
highly  necessary  that  the  whole  tribe  of  fur 
traders  should  be  excluded  from  the  wilder- 
ness. Nor  would  they  consent  that  the  case  of 
LaSalle  was  exceptional,  although  they  well 
knew  that  his  life  was  in  every  way  commend- 
able, that  he  was  a  devout  christian  and  that  he 
sincerely  desired  their  prosperit}'.  It  was 
plainly  their  hope  that  not  onl}'  the  faith  and 
the  morals  of  the  woods  should  be  left  to  them, 
but  that  the  secular  interests,  as  well,  should 
never  escape  their  supervision  and  control. 
They  opposed  LaSalle  at  Fort  Frontenac,  com- 
plaining to  the  Governor  with  the  se\'erest 
aspersions  against  LaSalle's  life  and  character. 
They  declared  that  his  moti\'es  were  purely 
selfish  and  mercenary,  that  his  methods  were 
dishonest  and  his  daily  life  extremely  vile. 
The  first  charge  fell  to  the  ground,  for  every- 
body on  the  St.  Lawrence  knew  that  this  man 
at  all  times,  in  his  poverty  and  in  his  days  of 
triumph,  was   forever  thinking  and   talking  of 

20 


those  things  that  would  help  the  work  of  the 
church,  increase  the  prosperity  of  Canada  and 
redound  to  the  glory  of  France.  As  for  his 
trade  with  the  Indians,  the  latter  loved  him  as 
a  true  man,  and  all  that  he  did  was  justified  by 
his  patents  from  the  crown.  And  as  for  his 
morals,  a  \'ery  prompt  and  unexpected  in\'esti- 
gation  established  his  character  as  that  of  a 
man  whose  con\ersation  and  conduct  made 
him  a  model  of  propriety. 

But  calumnies,  often  repeated,  will  in  time 
warp  the  popular  judgment.  These  things 
made  enemies  for  LaSalle,  enemies  who  rose 
up  in  unexpected  places  to  thwart  his  best  laid 
plans.  Nor  did  these  e\-il  rumors  fail  to  reach 
the  court  in  France  and  to  arouse  suspicion  and 
prejudice  there,  creating  conditions  very  hurt- 
ful to  the  cause  of  this  upright  man.  And  then 
there  is  ample  evidence  that  the  Jesuits  sent 
men  to  engage  in  the  service  of  LaSalle  for  the 
purpose  of  stirring  up  discord  among  his 
attaches  and  encouraging  desertions  at  critical 
times.  Nor  was  this  enough.  The  Indians 
themselves  were  tampered  with  and,  in  several 
of  the  tribes,  were  made  to  believe  that  LaSalle 
was  the  secret  ally  of  their  enemies;  that  he 
was  thus  a  man  to  be  summarily  dealt  with. 
Surrounded  by  such  malicious  foes,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  LaSalle  was  soon  complained  of 
as  a  silent  man,  one  who  kept  and  followed  his 

21 


own  Counsels.  And  this  leader  of  men  had 
still  other  enemies.  The  traders  who  lived  at 
Montreal  thought  that  LaSalle  would  buy  up 
all  the  furs  in  the  western  country  and  ruin 
their  business.  They  made  their  attack  upon 
him  as  venomous  as  possible  and  were  so  suc- 
cessful in  carrying  out  their  plans  as  to  seri- 
ously impair  his  credit.  But  the  utmost  endeav- 
ors of  his  enemies  could  not  restrain  this  deter- 
mined spirit.  Strong  in  conscious  rectitude,  he 
quite  overcame  them  all.  While  the  silly  con- 
tentions with  which  he  was  continually  har- 
rassed  were  indeed  unfortunate,  yet  they  never 
abated  his  noble  energy;  nor  did  they  in  any 
degree  dim  the  virtues  that  marked  LaSalle  as 
the  best  specimen  of  manhood  that  France  ever 
sent  to  the  St.  Lawrence. 


ON    THE   ST.  JOSEPH. 


I'HOTO  BY  W.  B.  STOVER. 

BELOW    THE    PORTAGE. 


VCISCAJ\r  COLLEGE  LIBBARX 


On  the  St.  Joseph. 


And  so,  one  may  say  that  it  was  by  no  means 
an  easy  path  o\'er  which  he  had  come,  when 
LaSalle,  at  length  found  the  harbor  at  the 
mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph. 

In  the  picturesc|ue  hii^hlands  of  southern 
Michigan,  not  far  from  the  city  of  Hillsdale, 
two  ri\'ers  of  the  same  name  have  a  common 
source.  One  courses  southward  into  Ohio,  then 
threads  off  into  Indiana  and  mingles  its  waters 
with  the  River  Maumee  at  Fort  Wayne.  It  is 
known  as  the  Little  St.  Joseph,  or  the  St.  Joseph 
of  the  Maumee.  The  other,  which  is  the  outlet 
of  a  lovely  lake,  the  Baw  Beese,  flows  north- 
westward a  considerable  distance,  then  makes 
an  abrupt  turn  southwesterly,  dipping  down 
into  Indiana,  entering  the  state  near  the  \illage 
of  Bristol,  Elkhart  County.  Thence  its  course 
is  westerly  until  the  city  of  South  Bend  is 
reached,  when  a  graceful  and  lengthening  cur\-e 
is  made  in  the  stream  towards  the  north,  and 
in  that  direction  it  runs  rapidly  on  to  the  great 
lake,  forty  miles  away.  This  is  the  big  St. 
Joseph,  or  the  St.  Joseph  of  the  Lakes. 

In   the   Michigan   uplands,  where  these  two 

25 


rivers  rise,  which  form  the  dividing  ridj^e  or  water 
shed  between  the  two  great  lakes,  Erie  and 
Michigan,  other  large  streams  find  a  source, 
also.  One,  the  Kalamazoo,  rushes  northwest- 
erly, and  another,  the  River  Raisin,  takes  an 
eastward  course.  Yet,  of  all  these  pretty  rix-ers 
whose  fountain-head  is  in  the  same  localitx', 
none  have  waters  quite  so  clear,  there  are  none 
with  channel  so  broad  and  deep,  with  current 
so  swift,  with  windings  so  graceful;  none  whose 
valleys  are  so  fair  and  fertile,  whose  banks  are 
so  high  and  picturesque,  or  about  whose  willow- 
fringed  shores  cling  legends  so  romantic  and 
cluster  memories  so  historic  as  the  St.  Joseph 
of  the  Lakes;  our  own  beautiful  St.  Joe,  the 
explorer's  River  of  the  Miamis,  the  Sauwk 
Wauwk  Sil  Buck  of  the  Pottawatomies.  This 
ri\er's  fame  is  known  the  continent  over.  Her 
beauty  is  preserved  in  picture,  and  her  glory 
told  in  song.  Such  were  the  scenes  that  wel- 
comed our  hero. 

His  arrival  was  on  the  first  of  November, 
1679,  and  the  season  of  the  year,  perhaps,  con- 
tributed something  to  the  melancholy  doubts 
that  now  began  to  weigh  heavily  on  the  spirits 
of  the  party.  Tonty  had  been  delayed  while 
hunting  up  deserters.  So  they  busied  them- 
selves in  the  building  of  a  very  necessary  fort, 
and  awaited  his  arrival.  The  king  had  instructed 
LaSalle  to  build  as  many  forts  as  he  deemed 


expedient.  He  located  one  here  as  an  asylum 
for  his  men,  in  case  hostilities  in  the  southern 
country  should  compel  a  retreat.  This  was 
LaSalle's  Fort  Miami,  and  our  river  he  called 
the  River  of  the  Miamis,  because  that  tribe  then 
claimed  our  valley  as  their  own.  His  men  next 
sounded  the  depths  of  the  harbor  and  stationed 
buoys  marking  the  channel.  And  it  is  said  that 
they  planted  two  high  poles  where  the  waters 
of  the  river  meet  those  of  the  lake,  and  fastened 
bear  skins  to  the  tops  of  these  poles.  This  was 
for  the  purpose  of  attracting  the  attention  of 
the  pilot,  when  the  "  Griffin "  should  arrive. 
After  a  long  delay,  they  were  joined  by  Tonty 
and  his  men,  but  the  little  ship  never  found  its 
way  into  the  mouth  of  our  river.  It  is  believed 
to  have  been  wrecked  near  Beaver  Island,  in 
Lake  Michigan.  The  rich  cargo  was  a  total  loss 
and  all  on  board  went  down  with  the  ship.  The 
party  at  the  St  Joseph  lingered  through  the 
month  of  November,  hoping  that  some  word 
might  come  from  the  ill-fated  bark,  and  then 
sadly  set  out  with  eight  canoes  on  their  journey 
up  the  river.  They  must  find  the  portage  path 
that  will  lead  them  to  those  springs  whose 
waters  had  found  a  way  to  the  great  Mississippi. 
For  sixty-five  miles  and  more  they  will  urge  the 
boats  against  a  swift  and  heavy  current.  Poles 
and  paddles  and  leading  ropes  will  lay  a  severe 
tax  on  their  energies,  before  they  may  quit  the 

37 


scenes  of  the  St.  Joseph.  Those  famihar  with 
our  river  during^  the  summer  months,  may  feel 
some  surprise  to  note  how  bhick  and  an^ry  its 
heavy  current  becomes  under  the  leaden  sky  of 
winter,  and  when  the  first  severe  blasts  from  the 
north  have  fringed  its  banks  with  ice  and  snow. 
The  sunniest  spot  on  the  highest  bluff  will  then 
be  cheerless  enough.  This  \-alley  is  no  fairy 
land  in  December.  And  it  is  not  strange  that 
in  the  explorer's  party  certain  murmurs  and 
mutterings  of  discontent  should  now  be  heard. 
And  who  were  these  ad\'enturous  souls  toiling 
up  the  rugged  channel  of  the  St.  Joseph  in  spite 
of  doubts  and  fears?  First,  there  was  the 
invincible  LaSalle,  the  leader  of  the  expedition, 
with  his  faithful  friend,  Henri  Tonty,  the  second 
in  command.  The  latter  was  the  son  of  a  noted 
financier,  the  author  of  the  Tontine  system  of 
life  insurance.  LaSalle  was  a  devout  Christian, 
and  so,  we  are  not  surprised  that  his  party 
should  have  included  three  Recollect  friars.  Of 
these,  the  venerable  Father  Gabriel  Ribourde, 
now  64  years  of  age,  was  destined  in  a  few  days 
to  perish  at  the  hands  of  the  savages,  and  to 
add  his  name  to  the  long  list  of  those  martyrs 
whose  apostolic  zeal  was  the  transcendant  glory 
of  France  in  America.  With  him  was  Zenobe 
Membre,  who  was  to  labor  as  a  devout  mis- 
sionary of  the  Cross  among  the  Illinois,  and 
then  to  follow  the  fortunes  of  LaSalle  to  the 


last  bitter  end.  when  the  wretched  remnant  of 
the  colon>'  .qatherin::;-  around  their  devoted 
priest,  perished  in  the  wilds  of  Texas.  The 
third  member  of  this  religious  order  was  Louis 
Hennepin,  one  whose  cowl  and  gown  could 
scarcel}'  disguise  the  man  of  the  world.  And 
there  were  John  Boisrondet  and  L'Esperience 
de  la  Brie,  of  whom  the  former  was  reputed  to 
have  been  the  private  secretary  and  accountant 
of  LaSalle,  and  the  latter  a  bod}' servant;  though 
LaSalle  himself  says  that  he  never  had  an 
accountant,  nor  a  servant  of  any  kind,  while  in 
the  wilderness.  Jean  Russell  was  one  of  this 
band.  He  and  LaSalle  had  formerly  been 
partners  in  the  fur  trade  on  the  St.  Lawrence. 
Moyse  Hillaret  was  the  master  ship-builder, 
with  Noel  le  Blanc  and  Jean  le  Mire  as  ship 
carpenters.  John  le  Milleur  was  the  nail  maker. 
His  companions  had  nicknamed  him  "The 
Forge."  There  were  also  two  pit-sawyers,  whose 
duty  it  would  be  to  work  out  the  planks  for  the 
new  ship  on  the  Illinois.  The  others,  with  one 
exception,  were  soldiers,  boatmen  and  advent- 
urers who  had  attached  themseh'es  to  the  enter- 
prise for  the  sake  of  the  excitement  in  store  for 
those  who  should  penetrate  the  secrets  of  the 
vast  and  mysterious  west.  The  exception  was 
White  Beaver,  the  Mohican  hunter,  who  stood 
head  and  shoulders  above  three-fourths  of  this 
motley  crew,  above   them   morally  as   well   as 

29 


physically.  For,  this  son  of  the  forest  was  the 
ideal  of  devotion  and,  next  to  Tonty,  the  most 
\aluable,  as  well  as  the  most  reliable,  support 
that  LaSalle's  cause  had  been  able  to  find  in  all 
the  high-ways  and  by-ways  of  New  France- 
When  all  but  a  very  few  of  those  en<^at^ed  in 
this  expedition  had  deserted  their  \-aliant 
leader,  and  in  some  cases  had  stolen  his  posses- 
sions. White  Beaver  stood  faithful  and  true. 
Those  who  ha\'e  lox'cd  to  follow,  with  Cooper, 
the  fortunes  of  Natty  Bumpo  and  the  Great 
Serpent  and  Uncas,  and  who  have  marvelled  at 
the  traits  of  character  with  which  fiction  has 
endowed  the  "Last  of  the  Mohicans,"  *  may  find 
in  White  Beaver  an  actual  personage  who  was, 
in  truth,  one  of  the  last  of  the  Mohicans.  Here 
is  a  red  man  whose  figure  in  history  is  the  living 
counterpart  of  those  creatures  of  the  imagina- 
tion whose  personalities  are  so  wonderfully 
portrayed  by  the  renowned  novelist.  It  was 
the  ever-faithful  White  Beaver  whose  skill  sup- 

*  When  our  ancestors  drove  the  Mohicans  out  of  Rhode 
Island,  ISIassachusetts  and  Connecticut,  the  tribe  fled  for  safety  far 
from  the  face  of  the  white  man.  LaSalle  found  a  part  of  them  on 
the  little  island  tracts  of  the  vast  marhes  of  the  Kankalcee.  Em- 
bowered here  in  the  alders  and  luxuriant  growths  of  reeds  and 
grasses,  they  found  a  snug  retreat,  safe  from  foes  both  red  and  white. 
They  could  follow  the  chase  on  the  main  hind,  but  the  canoes  by 
which  they  came  and  went  left  no  tell  tale  trace  behind.  The  late 
Mr.  Albert  Birner,  while  a  student  in  the  South  Bend  High  School, 
investigated  some  of  these  island  tracts  in  search  of  evidences  of 
occupancy  by  the  Mohicans.  He  found  numerous  flre-places  with 
flint  chips  and  arrow  points  and  the  usual  remains  that  mark  the 
home  of  the  Indian.  These  things  he  properly  regarded  as  a  part  of 
the  sequel  to  the  New  England  record  of  this  interesting  tribe. 


plied  their  larder  with  the  products  of  the  chase. 
He  was  their  guide  through  the  wilderness 
and  their  guard  against  lurking  dangers;  for,  his 
eye  alone  could  detect  the  "fearful  Indian  signs," 
and  his  judgment  supply  the  timely  warning. 
There  was  a  strong  bond  of  affection  between 
LaSalle  and  White  Beaver,  alike  worthy  of  each. 
When  these  hardy  forerunners  of  civilization 
had  reached  the  spot  where  the  portage  path 
was  to  be  found,  they  did  not  recognize  the 
place,  because  the  ground  was  covered  with 
snow.  White  Beaver,  the  guide,  was  not  with 
them  at  the  time,  ha\-ing  left  the  canoes  for  the 
purpose  of  hunting.  Their  failure  to  disco\er 
the  landing  proved  a  grave  misfortune,  for  it  was 
attended  by  a  series  of  ills  that  contributed  not 
a  little  to  the  weight  of  fear  and  gloom  to  which 
the  braver  hearts  among  them  now  seemed 
ready  to  succumb.  The  landing  where  they 
should  have  drawn  up  their  canoes  to  take  the 
portage  path,  is  located  on  the  north  side  of 
the  pronounced  bend,  or  loop,  in  the  ri\er,  situ- 
ated in  Section  27, German  Township.  We  do  not 
know  how  far  they  ascended  the  river  beyond 
this  point  before  their  mistake  was  discovered. 
It  is  fair  to  presume,  howe\'er,  that  the\'  could 
not  have  continued  for  any  great  distance  abo\e 
the  spot  known  as  the  south  bend  of  the  ri\er; 
for  they  must  soon  have  discox'ered  that  beyond 
this  place  the  trend  of  the  ri\er-bed   led  away 


31 


from  the  rc-i^ion  of  the  Kankakee.  The>'  kuicled 
and  prepared  to  search  for  the  porta^^e.  LaSalle, 
in  his  eagerness  to  find  the  path,  set  forth  alone 
and  unarmed.  And  here  the  unexpected  hajj- 
pened.  He  was  soon  lost.  We  say  the  unex- 
pected, for  it  would  appear  very  strange  that  a 
man  with  LaSalle's  thirteen  years  of  experience 
in  woodcraft  should  lose  his  bearings.  But  the 
situation  was  one  which  might  easily  confuse 
any  explorer.  He  was  on  the  spot  where  the 
\ery  tip  end  of  the  Kankakee  valley  merges 
into  that  of  the  St.  Joseph.  Over  this  spot  the 
water  of  the  latter  river  once  ran,  when,  in 
ancient  geological  times,  the  portion  of  our 
river  above  the  south  bend  was  a  continuation 
of  the  \alley  of  the  Kankakee.  LaSalle  was 
looking  for  a  ridge  which  should  divide  the  two 
river  valleys,  and  this  was  the  particular  spot 
where  no  sign  of  such  a  ridge  was  easih'  found. 
He  doubtless  supposed  that  the  hills  to  the 
south  of  the  present  road  between  South  Bend 
and  Mishawaka,  formed  that  ridge  and  strove 
to  reach  their  summit.  In  doing  so,  he  was 
compelled  to  pick  his  way  through  the  long, 
swampy  tract  h'ing  between  these  hills  and  the 
St.  Joseph.  The  view  from  the  highland  showed 
him  the  great  Kankakee  marsh  on  the  west. 
But  in  his  return  to  his  companions,  he  missed 
the  devious  path  by  which  he  had  come,  and 
tried  to  go  around  this  marshy  tract  extending 


for  scxcTcil  miles  to  the  cast.  Tonty  says  that 
"  he  had  to  make  the  detour."  In  so  doing,  he 
must  ha\'e  gone  east  nearly  as  far  as  the  present 
site  of  the  village  of  Osceola.  Here  he  came 
again  to  the  banks  of  the  St.  Joseph. 

Night  had  overtaken  him  in  his  wanderings, 
and  he  was  hastening  forward,  with  thoughts 
inspired  by  w^eariness,  hunger  and  the  alarm 
which  he  knew  his  friends  had  felt  from  his 
prolonged  absence.  A  light  twinkled  through 
the  undergrowth  and  he  supposed  he  had  found 
the  encampment.  He  rushed  forward  with  a 
great  shout.  A  solitary  form  rose  hastily  from 
the  side  of  the  fire  and  darted  away  through  the 
forest.  LaSalle  called  loudly  again  and  again, 
in  his  most  reassuring  tones,  using  se\'eral 
Indian  languages,  but  the  apparition  had  fled 
and  would  not  return.  If  neither  friends  nor 
food  were  at  hand,  at  least  a  bed  had  been 
found,  and  the  doughty  explorer  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  appropriate  the  comforts  of  the  fireside 
from  which  the  unwilling  host  had  retreated 
sans  ceremony.  The  thought  of  fear  for  his  per- 
sonal safety  seldom  troubled  this  man  LaSalle, 

The  next  da}'  he  wandered  along  our  rixer  in 
search  of  his  friends.  Ha\'ing  passed  the  pres- 
ent site  of  Mishawaka,  he  was  found  by  Tonty 
"  two  leagues  above  the  portage."  A  few  min- 
utes later  the  White  Beaver  joined  them.  Two 
leagues   above   the   portage,   if  we   follow   the 

33 


nH-anck-riiit^s  of  the  ri\'cr,  would  hrin^-  us  to  a 
point  witliin  the  present  city  limits  of  South 
Bend,  probably  not  far  from  the  Michig-an 
Street  brid<^e.  The  finding-  of  LaSalle  was  an 
immense  relief  to  Tonty  and  the  Indian,  and, 
of  course,  to  LaSalle  himself.  In  the  j^reetint^s 
of  the  Frenchmen  Gallic  enthusiasm  must  ha\"e 
found  a  \'ery  hearty  expression;  nor  could  the 
hi^'h  lig-hts  of  the  scene  ha\'e  suffered  from  the 
foil  which  they  certainly  found  in  the  sedate 
composure  of  the  Indian  <4"uide.  The  three 
made  their  way  down  the  bank  of  the  river  to 
the  portage  landing,  where  they  joined  their 
friends  late  in  the  afternoon.  Here  they 
observed  that  the  thoughtful ness  of  Father 
Ribourde  had  prompted  him  to  cut  crosses  on 
the  trees,  so  that  their  lost  leader  might  recog- 
nize the  place,  in  case  he  should  wander  by 
while  the  party  was  away  looking  for  him. 
Many  of  the  trees  in  this  region  had  been  blazed 
by  the  Iroquois  war  parties  in  making  signals 
for  their  friends.  But  trees  marked  by  the 
Christian  symbol  would  be  understood  by 
LaSalle  without  any  peradventure  of  mistake. 
Tonty  speaks  of  the  great  joy  of  these  anxious 
ones  over  the  restoration  of  their  captain. 

This  meeting  at  the  landing  supplies  the  sub- 
ject for  the  first  painting,  "  LaSalle  at  the  Por- 
tage, Dec.  5th,  1679."    See  frontispiece. 


34 


THE  OLD  PORTAGE  LANDING. 


The  Old  Portage  Landing. 

The  spot  where  the  ancient  portage  path  left 
the  St.  Joseph  is  one  of  rarest  beauty.  Few 
could  be  indifferent  to  its  charms.  There  are 
some  of  us  who  remember  it  tenderly  from 
those  early  days  when  we  approached  the  place 
in  a  boy's  voyage  of  discovery  down  the  river. 
The  great  ox-bow  which  the  stream  makes  at 
this  point,  as  it  turns  from  a  due  west  course  to 
one  due  east,  is  held  in  place  by  a  lofty  and 
steep  bank  skirting  the  outer  margin  of  the 
curve  throughout  its  entire  length;  in  fact,  the 
rix'er.  in  past  ages,  has  made  a  vast  amphithea- 
ter in  this  place  by  its  deep  excavations  in  the 
bluff  that  constitutes  the  eastern  margin  of  the 
prairie.*     In   those  other  days  the  banks  were 


*  In  the  days  of  French  exploration,  the  Indians  called  this  prai- 
rie "Ox-Head  Prairie,'"  as  Charlevoix  has  told  us.  The  name  was 
derived  from  the  circumstance  that  an  ox-head  of  "gigantic  size" 
had  once  been  found  here.  This  may  have  been  the  head  of  a  buffalo, 
or  it  may  have  been  that  of  a  mastodon  washed  out  of  the  glacial 
debris  that  everywhere  underlies  this  prairie,  ana  sometimes  yieldi 
the  remains  of  both  the  mastodon  and  the  mammoth.  In  southern 
Ohio,  the  remains  of  the  mastodon  were  found  on  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  when  the  white  man  first  appeared.  So  the  name  which  the 
French  rendered  "  Ox-Head  Prairie  "  might  have  been  Mastodon 
Prairie  in  pure  Miami.  Our  century  has  known  this  tract  as  Portage 
Prairie,  because  across  it  ran  the  ancient  portage  path  to  the  head- 

37 


more  hca\ily  wooded  and  the  shades  were  hence 
a  little  mori.'  pronounced.  The  water  was  dee)) 
and  dark,  and  almost  without  current  or  eddy. 
As  our  boat  drifted  slowly  along  the  outer  mar- 
j^in  of  the  cur\e,  we  looked  up  to  find  ourselves 
in  a  spot  quite  fit  for  some  tale  of  strange 
enchantment.  The  fine  arc  of  the  river's  course 
enclosing  us  on  three  sides,  the  high  slopes  of 
the  walls  of  living  green,  and  the  long  shadows 
that  lay  motionless  on  this  unwonted  calm  of 
the  stream,  kindled  emotions  not  \'et  forgotten 
nor  soon  to  be.  Those  who  have  viewed  the 
place  will  feel  no  surprise  that  one  of  the  oldest 
inhabitants  of  the  locality  should  be  able  to 
recall  that  the  Indians  loved  to  draw  up  their 
canoes  along  this  shore,  and  that  almost  any 
day  a  few  fires  were  to  be  seen  at  the  portage 
landing  on  the  north  bank.  The  last  remnant 
of  the  vanishing  race  clung  fondly  to  these 
scenes.  The>'  lo\ed  the  spot,  and  so  ma)'  we. 
There  is  an  atmosphere  about  the  place;  yet 
the  spell  it  works  is  not  in  any  way  weird  or 
uncanny,  but  such  as  may  soothe  the  spirit  and 
draw  it  into  a  mood  for  sober  reflection. 

If  you  will  climb  up  the  high  bank  at  almost 


waters  of  the  Kankakee.  There  is  a  northern  extension  of  this  prai- 
rie, reaching  for  many  miles — nearly  as  far  as  Buchanan,  Mich., — 
with  open  spaces  here  and  there  running  toward  the  St.  Joseph.  The 
soil  would  lead  one  to  think  that  the  entire  tract  was  at  one  time  an 
open  plain,  on  which,  ages  ago,  the  forest  began  to  encroach,  until 
the  northern  part,  when  the  white  man  came,  was  much  cut  up  by 
long  tongues  and  islands  of  the  woodland. 

38 


any  pdint  in  (his  bend  of  the  river,  you  may 
observe  numerous  cedar  stumps  several  inches 
in  diameter.  Such  cedars  were  once  plentiful 
here,  as  indicated  by  these  remains  and  the 
small  growths  still  surviving-.  One  such  tree 
still  stands,  as  you  will  plainly  note,  a  grand  old 
sentinel  on  the  south  arm  of  the  ri\'er's  arc.  In 
the  other  days  this  great  cedar  had  a  compan- 
ion on  the  north  side  very  close  to  the  landing 
itself.  Only  a  stump  of  the  latter  tree  remains, 
but  it  is  more  than  seven  feet  in  circumference. 
Its  red  heart  holds  the  entire  story  of  the  white 
man's  exploits  at  the  portage  landing.  East  of 
the  landing  and  half  way  up  the  bank,  and  now 
by  the  winding  road  side,  stands  a  white  oak, 
You  will  not  overlook  it.  Its  glory  had  been 
shorn  by  storm  after  storm,  but  it  still  flung  to 
the  breeze  one  tattered  ensign  of  green,  until  the 
severe  drought  a  few  seasons  ago  quenched  its 
feeble  energies  forever.  This  venerable  mon- 
arch, also,  could  unfold  the  tale  of  the  French- 
man's bold  ad\'enture  and  high  design.  It 
could  tell  us,  too,  of  the  time  when  its  leafy 
arm.s  reached  far  out  over  the  ford  that  crosses 
the  ri\er  here,  just  in  front  of  the  spot  where 
its  massi\e  trunk  rises  from  the  sand;  and,  per- 
haps, it  could  tell  of  those  men  who,  ages  ago, 
placed  stepping  stones  here  from  bank  to  bank. 
It  could  tell  us  of  the  great  herds  of  buffaloes 
that  sometimes  filed  down  the  portage  path  and 

39 


across  this  ford  to  the  groves  beyond  and  the 
open  plain  far  to  the  east.*  Nor  can  one  turn 
away  from  this  aged  oak  without  wondering 
whether  the  compact  folds  of  its  growth  do  not 
somewhere  contain  the  traces  of  one  of  Father 
Ribourde's  crosses. 

At  a  point  on  the  high  bank  near  the  center 
of  the  river's  curve,  a  sa\'age  scout  might  ha\'e 
concealed  himself,  when  the  Miamis,  in  i68i, 
came  up  the  St.  Joseph  to  meet  the  Illinois, 
their  relatives,  whose  towns  had  been  laid  waste 
by  fire  and  plunder  and  themsel\"es  compelled 
to  fly  before  that  relentless  foe,  the  dreaded 
Iroquois.  The  scout  would  fasten  his  eye  on 
the  north  arm  of  the  ri\'er;  for,  around  the 
sharp  bend  far  to  the  east  will  come,  by  twos 
and  threes  or  in  lengthening  line,  an  immense 
flotilla  of  canoes.  All  of  the  Miamis  will  be 
there,  thousands  of  them,  man,  woman  and 
child,  all  fired  with  one  impulse,  the  defense  of 
their  friends  against  the  implacable  enemies 
from    the    far    east.     The    sharp   eyes    peering 


*  The  meadows  and  open  forests  along  the  St.  Joseph — especially 
in  this  part  of  its  course — were  known  to  the  old  French  inhabitants 
as  the  "  Parch  aux  Vache,"  or  cow  pastures;  and  this  title  is  said  to 
have  supplanted  an  older  Indian  name  of  similar  import.  It  had 
such  a  uame  because  it  was  a  famous  resort  for  the  buffalo.  Father 
Hennepin  tells  us  that  the  buffaloes  were  here  in  such  numbers  that 
the  Miamis  "  sometimes  killed  from  one  hundred  to  two  hundred 
daily."  And  he  adds  that  they  did  this  by  setting  fire  to  the  grass  so 
as  to  enclose  a  herd  of  these  animals  in  a  fiery  corral  and  thus  force 
them  to  pass  a  given  point  in  making  their  escape.  .\t  this  point  the 
Indians  stationed  themselves  with  their  bows  and  arrows. 

40 


through  the  cedar  trees,  will  count  the  painted 
warriors,  as  each  canoe  struggles  through  the 
stony  rapids  below  the  ford.  This  skulking  foe 
will  lie  close  to  the  sod,  as  these  same  canoes 
swing  into  the  quiet  expanse  below.  When 
night  has  fallen  and  the  kettles  are  swung  and 
the  fires  are  burning,  he  will  steal  nearer  to 
catch,  if  he  may,  the  warnings  of  the  old  men^ 
the  counsels  of  the  chiefs,  the  vauntings  of  the 
young  men  and  the  songs  of  the  brave.  How 
rich  must  have  been  the  savage  traditions  that 
clustered  around  this  spot  !  What  life-long 
memories  must  have  centered  here  !  Now  the 
rendezvous  of  friends,  and  now  the  ambush  of 
some  deadly  foe,  it  listened,  in  turn,  to  high 
hopes  and  burning  counsels  or  caught  the  dark 
fears  that  glanced  from  eye  to  eye.  We  do  not 
easily  forget  those  spots  on  earth  where  our 
strongest  emotions  are  greatly  kindled.  Such 
a  spot  was  this  to  the  Red  Man,  and  the  mem- 
ories in  the  savage  breast  must  have  been  like 
the  perpetual  green  of  these  sloping  walls. 

But  whatever  the  native  charms  of  the  locality 
to  which  their  wanderings  had  brought  them, 
this  region  had  nothing  but  threatenings  of 
disaster  in  store  for  these  brave  men.  The 
party  had  encamped  at  the  portage.  That 
night,  LaSalle  and  Father  Hennepin  slept  in 
the  same  lodge,  a  structure  improvised  after 
the    Indian    fashion   out  of    mats    and    plaited 


bulrushes  resting  on  bent  saplings.  During 
the  night  their  lodge  caught  fire,  and  those  who 
ha\'e  left  an  account  of  the  accident  thought 
that  the  inmates  made  a  narrow  escape  from 
death.  The  bank  of  the  river  just  above  the 
landing  is  steep  and  high,  but  from  the  landing 
itself  there  leads  away  a  narrow  yet  exceed- 
ingly beautiful  defile,  which  rises  by  an  imper- 
ceptible grade  to  the  prairie  on  the  west.  It 
meets  the  prairie  at  a  point  where  the  latter 
crosses  the  Niles,  or  Portage  road  and  makes 
its  nearest  approach  to  the  ri\'er.  This  same 
place  on  the  edge  of  the  prairie  is  also  reached 
by  a  wide  path  that  lies  in  and  by  the  side  of  the 
present  east  and  west  drive-way,  extending  from 
the  Niles  road  to  the  landing  and  beyond. 
Either  the  narrow  defile,  with  its  broad,  smooth 
path,  or  the  present  east  and  west  drive-way, 
may  mark  the  course  of  the  ancient  portage 
path.  Doubtless  both  were  in  use.  Near  the 
spot  where  the  defile  comes  to  the  Niles  road, 
a  tract  was  uncovered,  in  establishing  the  grade 
of  the  highway,  where  children  for  years  have 
been  accustomed  to  find  glass  beads  and  those 
trinkets  which  indicate  the  site  of  the  fur 
trader's  home.  The  fur  trader  got  under  the 
shadow  of  a  fort,  whenever  it  was  possible  to 
do  so.  Our  best  historians  ha\e  thought  that 
LaSalle  built  a  second  fort  at  the  portage  dur- 
ing   one   of    his    subsequent   journeys.      These 


beads  misj^ht  scr\c  to  show  where  this  fort 
stood,  as  well  as  to  establish  a  point  in  the 
portage  path.* 


*Mr.  Robert  Myler.  former  Aiulitor  of  St.  .Joseph  County,  who 
owns  the  land  surrounding;  the  old  portase  landing,  has  donated 
nearly  two  acres  of  ground  directly  on  the  line  of  the  portage  trail, 
to  the  Northern  Indiana  Historical  Society,  under  the  condition  that 
it  l)e  used  f  ir  the  erection  of  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  LaSalle. 
The  Society  is  taking  steps  to  mark  the  spot  with  a  temporary  mon- 
ument, and  hopes  in  time  to  be  able  to  erect  a  bronze  statue  of  the 
explorer  there.  The  place  is  still  in  its  native  state  and  is  called 
LaSalle  Park. 


43 


PHOTO  BY  \V.  B.  STOVER. 

ABOVE    THE    PORTAGE. 


CROSSING  THE   PORTAGE. 


Crossing  the  Portage. 


On  the  morning 
of  December  6th, 
the  hardy  explor- 
ers, gathering  to- 
gether all  their  ef- 
fects, prepared  to 
cross  the  portage 
to  the  Kankakee. 
This  was  no  slight 
u  n  d  e  r  t  a  ki  ni^,  as 
will  appear  to  one 
who  considers  the 
conditions.  We 
ha\-e  seen  that  the 
party  ascended  the 
St.  Joseph  in  eight 
birch-bark  canoes. 
These  canoes  had 
been  purchased 
from  the  Indians  at  one  of  the  fishing  grounds 
of  the  Chippewas,  the  Straits  of  Mackinac,  and 
they  were  each  large  enough  to  carry  from  ten 
to  fourteen  persons.  There  were  thirty-three 
people  in   LaSalle's    party  and  most  of    them 

47 


LU    WITNEr^S    TKtE. 


were  embarked  in  four  of  the  canoes.  The 
remainino-  four  were  loaded  down  with  the 
equipment  of  the  expedition.  This  equipment 
consisted  of  merchandise  for  barter  with  the 
nati\'es,  the  clothing"  and  arms  of  the  party,  the 
cooking  utensils  and  a  small  amount  of  food, 
together  with  an  extensi\'e  outfit  for  the  build- 
ing of  that  vessel  which  should  be  a  companion 
ship  for  the  "  Griffin."  This  ship-building  out- 
fit included  a  forge  and  bellows  with  the  black- 
smith's anvil  and  his  tools;  also  a  considerable 
amount  of  iron  to  be  made  up  into  nails,  bolts, 
plates,  rods,  etc.  And  there  were  the  ship's 
carpenter  and  joiner  tools  and  a  pit  saw  for 
sawing  planks. 

There  were,  of  course,  no  beasts  of  burden  at 
hand  and  no  wagons.  Every  article  taken 
across  this  prairie,  a  distance  of  nearly  five 
miles,  must  be  borne  on  the  backs  of  men. 
And,  besides,  the  canoes  themselves  must  be 
carried  over.  They  were  of  very  light  weight, 
comparatively  speaking,  consisting  of  nothing 
more  than  frail  cedars  for  framework,  covered 
with  the  thin  bark  of  the  white  birch.  But  such 
was  their  bulk  and  shape  that  each  must  be 
taken  on  the  backs  of  two  men,  one  at  either  end 
of  the  canoe.  They  could  not  be  conveniently 
handled  by  less  nor  more  than  two  men.  Here, 
then,  was  employment  for  sixteen  of  the  party. 
The  others  must  bend  under  the  burden  of  the 

48 


equipment,  consisting  in  this  case  of  several 
thousand  pounds.  Some  of  the  men  were  aged; 
Father  Ribourde  was  sixty-four.  Yet,  we  do 
not  doubt,  he  carried  his  full  share;  he  had 
shown  a  disposition  to  do  as  much  at  the  Niag- 
ara portage.  Both  cheerful  and  full  of  enthusi- 
asm, he  had  always  sought  in  every  way  to  inspirit 
the  men.  How  much  did  LaSalle  himself  carry? 
And  what  kind  of  a  burden  could  the  round 
and  jo\ial  Hennepin  bear?  Whatever  share 
was  taken  from  one  man's  shoulders  must  be  laid 
on  the  already  o\'erburdened  back  of  another. 

In  starting  on  one  of  these  wilderness  jour- 
neys, it  was  customary  to  make  very  careful 
estimates  of  the  capacity  of  each  member  of 
the  expedition  as  a  burden  bearer.  And  in  later 
times,  it  was  the  rule  of  the  fur  companies  that 
any  man  who  gave  out  on  a  portage,  or  fell  with 
his  burden,  should  be  deserted  in  the  wilder- 
ness. This  might  appear  an  awful  penalty  for 
laziness  or  an  outrageous  wrong  against  the 
weak  and  infirm.  But,  it  was  one  of  those  iron 
rules  which  awful  necessities  made  imperative; 
for,  under  such  circumstances,  when  a  man 
threw  down  his  burden,  the  valuable  wares 
would  in  most  cases  be  a  total  loss,  and  the 
mere  attempt  to  pre\'ent  such  loss  might  prove 
disastrous  to  the  entire  expedition.  It  was 
always  greatly  desired  and  generally  indispensa- 
ble that  the  entire  work  at  a  portage  should  be 

49 


pcrformccl  at  one  trip;  for,  should  tlic  party  be 
{li\icle(l  in  muarclint,''  the  elTects  at  both  ends  of 
the  portas^'e  and  in  passins^'  to  and  fro,  some 
lurkinf4"  enemy  mij^ht  easily  overcome  the  sep- 
arated detachments.  i\nd  such  enemies  were 
e\'er  in  wait  for  those  whose  tec-t  must  press 
these  wilderness  paths.  Indeed,  the  solitary 
Indian  whose  bivouac  LaSalle  had  surprised, 
suggests  that  such  a  foe  was  at  hand,  awaiting 
an  opportunity  of  attacking  the  party  wht-n  it 
should  cross  our  prairie. 

That  there  should  ha\'e  been  an  open  prairie 
at  this  place,  was  a  fortunate  circumstance,  since 
it  afforded  some  protection  against  ambush. 
All  who  mention  the  scene  speak  of  it  as  one 
of  great  beauty,  a  gently  rolling  tract,  dotted 
with  clumps  of  trees  and  cox'ered  with  a  hea\y 
turf.  In  the  summer  months,  a  sprinkling  of 
flowers  gave  a  flash  of  color  to  the  view,  chang- 
ing as  the  season  ad\'anced.  Those  who  saw 
the  western  prairies  in  their  pristine  lo\'eliness, 
declare  that  the  pre\'ailing  tint  which  the  flow^- 
ers  gave  the  landscape  in  springtime,  was  red; 
in  midsummer,  blue;  while  in  the  autumn  it  was 
yellow,  a  herald  of  the  approaching  fall  of  the 
leaf. 

A  summer's  day  on  our  portage  had  a  charm 
all  its  own.  a  charm  for  those  whose  nerves 
were  not  too  sensitix'e  to  the  ever-present  ele- 
ment  of   danger.     The   buffalo  was   there  and 

50 


innumerable  deer;  the  fox  and  the  lynx- 
threaded  their  careful  way  where  the  grass  was 
tall;  wolves  looked  hungrily  over  some  rising 
knoll;  the  panther  had  his  lair  in  the  wooded 
tract;  and  the  black  bear  trundled  across  an 
arm  of  the  prairie  or  sat  on  his  haunches  in  the 
shade  of  a  solitary  oak  and  dreamed  of  acorns 
that  were  ripening  for  him.  But  when  the  dark 
December  days  had  come  and  cutting  blasts 
brought  to  the  St.  Joseph  the  greetings  of  the 
marshes  and,  with  the  advancing  season,  the 
snow  began  to  pile  itself  higher  and  higher,  it 
was  a  scene  to  weigh  heavily  on  the  heart  of 
the  traveler. 

And  such,  we  are  told  by  LaSalle,  was  their 
first  view  of  the  prairie.  Stout  men  might  have 
been  forgiven  for  thinking  of  home  and  for 
shedding  tears  and  begging  their  doughty 
leader  to  turn  back,  so  completely'  would  the 
wild  desolation  of  the  scene  break  down  the 
spirits  of  even  the  brave.  The  ground  was 
white  with  snow  and  the  field  was  dotted  every- 
where with  the  skeletons  of  buffaloes  that  had 
perished  here  in  the  drifts  of  the  preceding 
winter.  In  the  stare  of  those  eyeless  sockets 
there  was  an  evil  omen,  and  only  too  well  did 
these  worn  pilgrims  divine  its  meaning.  Threats 
of  mutiny  began  to  be  heard.  The  food  supply 
had  been  growing  very  short  of  late,  and 
thoughts  of  famine,  the  scourge  of  the  wilder- 


ness,  had  for  many  days  kept  these  tra\-elers  in 
a  troubled  state  of  mind. 

LaSalle  had  shown  them  that  for  this  reason, 
if  for  no  other,  they  should  press  on  to  the  Illi- 
nois country,  where  it  might  be  that  better  con- 
ditions awaited  them.  He  was  a  good  talker, 
and  by  example,  too,  he  was  able  to  rouse  their 
failing  courage  and  to  inspire  them  again  and 
again  with  that  conquering  enthusiasm  that 
filled  his  own  soul,  as  it  must  the  souls  of  all 
who  would  achieve  nobly.  But  appeals,  how- 
ever inspiring,  could  not  o\'ercome  all  opposi- 
tion. One  of  the  men — whose  abhorred  name 
was  Duplessis — doubtless  bearing  some  ill-will 
against  LaSalle  and  determined  that  the  party 
should  go  no  further,  resolved  to  kill  the 
leader.  Stealing  up  from  behind,  this  villain 
had  raised  his  gun  to  shoot  LaSalle  in  the  back, 
but  the  timely  interference  of  others  averted 
the  catastrophe.  This  act  of  murderous  treach- 
ery being  happily  forestalled,  they  followed  on 
across  the  prairie.  But  it  was  a  critical  moment 
and  came  near  putting  a  final  and  fatal  period 
to  the  career  of  LaSalle. 

Crossing  the  portage  was  not  a  general  scram- 
ble over  the  prairie  in  almost  any  line,  but  it 
was  a  single  file  along  a  very  definite  path. 
Those  w^ho  remember  the  locality  from  the  days 
pre\'ious  to  the  survey  of  the  Michigan  road 
speak   of   the   path   as   deep   and   straight.     In 

52 


places  it  was  so  deep  that  a  man  on  horseback 
could  almost  touch  either  bank  with  his  foot. 
On  the  prairies  a  wagon  rut  will  sometimes 
wash  into  a  miniature  gully  during  a  rainy  sea- 
son. But  not  so  the  path  worn  by  the  unshod 
hoofs  of  the  wild  herd  or  the  one  pressed  into 
the  soil  deeper  and  deeper,  year  after  year  and 
age  after  age,  by  the  moccasined  foot  of  the 
savage.  And,  it  is  wonderful,  how  these  old 
avenues  of  the  life  that  is  gone  still  exist  almost 
without  change,  in  those  localities  where  the 
axe  and  the  plow  have  spared  the  native  condi- 
tions of  the  virgin  soil.  There  are  many  tracts 
in  our  valley  where  portions  of  these  paths  may 
still  be  seen,  and  for  some  mysterious  reason 
nature  has  refused  to  encroach  upon  their  ven- 
erable precincts  with  any  plant  life  of  the  larger 
growth,  and  the  old  trail  now,  as  in  days  of 
yore,  winds  plain  and  distinct.  And  we  can 
understand  why  this  portage  path  should  have 
been  a  deep  one. 

Unnumbered  ages  and  countless  hosts  well 
knew  the  trend  of  this  ancient  highway;  ages 
when  the  hosts  of  the  lower  Mississippi  and  the 
Gulf  sought  the  copper  mines  of  the  upper  lake 
region.  Not  only  in  the  mounds  throughout 
the  great  valley  and  the  Gulf  region,  but  also 
in  the  oldest  of  the  Peruvian  tombs,  are  found 
implements  and  tokens  made  from  the  Lake 
Superior  copper.     And  we  may  not  doubt  that 

53 


the  traffic  whicli  these  facts  imply  was  itself,  in 
part,  responsible  for  the  depth  of  this  path. 
Nor  is  it  straiii>e  that  it  should  ha\'e  been  a 
straight  path.  We  may  easily  imagine  that 
backs  benchng  under  the  weary  loads  would  not 
allow  the  shuffling,  staggering  footsteps  to  wan- 
der even  a  little  from  the  shortest  line  between 
the  two  water  courses. 

The  length  of  this  path  is  four  and  eighty- 
five  one-hundredths  miles,  and  this  is  the  short- 
est distance  between  the  St.  Joseph  and  the 
accessible  waters  of  the  Kankakee  na^'igable 
for  boats  during  all  seasons  of  the  year.  Father 
Hennepin  states  that  the  Kankakee  has  its 
source  "  on  the  west  side"  of  this  prairie.  This 
was  doubtless  a  correct  description  in  his  day, 
although  as  this  generation  has  known  the  prai- 
rie it  does  not  seem  to  extend  so  far  to  the 
west.  A  strip  of  woodland  intervenes  between 
the  head  of  the  Kankakee  on  the  west  and  what 
we  have  known  as  the  limits  of  the  prairie  in 
that  direction.  But  the  notes  of  the  go\'ern- 
ment  survey  of  the  Michigan  road  state  that 
the  regions  covered  by  the  western  part  of  the 
portage  path  were  "  very  thinly  wooded,'  in 
1840,  and  the  soil  there  is  for  the  most  part  like 
that  of  the  open  prairie.  In  our  century,  the 
forest  had  begun  to  encroach  on  the  prairie, 
just  as  it  is  known  to  have  done  on  the  borders 
of  the  Green  River  prairies    in  Kentucky,  since 


54 


the  settlement  of  that  country  by  the  white 
man.  So,  in  LaSalle's  day,  our  prairie  extended 
farther  west. 

Here,  then,  on  the  west  side  of  the  prairie,  in 
the  midst  of  what  Hennepin  calls  "much  shak- 
\ni^  earth,"  referrino-  to  the  well-known  sponj^'y 
soil  (^f  many  of  our  quakint^"  marshes,  be^an  the 
much-sou5^ht-for  Illinois,  or  Kankakee,  river. 
This  source  of  the  great  river  consists  of  sev- 
eral small  pools,  some  of  which  are  in  the 
marshy  tract  and  two — the  first  and  the  last 
— in  the  surrounding  hills.  They  run  one  into 
the  other,  and  finally  into  the  first  of  what  we 
know  as  Chain  Lakes.  From  the  lower  end  of 
the  south  lake  puts  out  the  little  stream  which, 
together  with  an  arm  l\'ing  still  further  west, 
forms  what  is  marked  on  the  earliest  govern- 
ment surveys  as  the  "  Grapevine,"  a  name 
highly  suggestive  of  the  trouble  which  LaSalle 
and  his  party  experienced  from  the  extremely 
zigzag  course  of  the  uppermost  parts  of  the 
Kankakee.  The  Grapevine,  as  every  hunter 
knows,  is  one  interminable  series  of  crooks  and 
turns.  It  forms  the  main  part  of  the  upper 
Kankakee,  and  is  joined  by  the  south  arm  at 
Crum's  Point.  The  south  arm  rises  in  a  spring 
on  the  extreme  south  margin  of  the  marsh,  with 
miles  of  swamp  l\-ing  between  it  and  the  dry 
grounds  contiguous  to  the  portage  landing  of 
the  St.  Joseph. 


Photo  bv  W.  b.  Stover. 
CRUMSTOWN    TRAIL,  NEAR    THE    ST.  JOSEPH. 


TREND  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PATH. 


LA  SALLE    AT    42. 


{^M^^ 


Trend  of  the  Ancient  Path. 

The  scholarly  priest,  tra\'eler  and  essayist, 
Charlevoix,  came  this  way  in  September.  172 1. 
He  and  his  Canadian  boatmen  did  not  try  to 
get  across  the  portage  in  one  day,  but  encamped 
for  the  night  on  the  high  ground  mid\va\' 
between  the  two  rix'ers.  He  speaks  of  the  spot 
as  an  '"extremely  beautiful  place."  We  of  this 
day  call  this  elevated  tract  Mount  Pleasant. 
It  begins  at  the  Mount  Pleasant  chapel  on  the 
Michigan  road  and  runs  north  a  mile  or  more, 
slightly  increasing  in  elevation.  From  its  sum- 
mit may  be  gained  a  most  entrancing  \iew  of 
the  entire  plain  in  which  South  Bend  now  lies, 
but  where,  in  Charlevoix's  time,  a  noble  forest 
held  sway.  When  he  continued  his  journe}'  the 
next  da}'  the  path,  he  states,  led  him  through 
damp  ground.  The  straight  course  of  the  path 
beyond  this  elevated  spot  would  lead  him 
through  low  ground.  He  could  have  a\-oided 
the  low  ground  by  turning  slightly  to  the  south; 
but  if  he  should  do  so,  such  a  course  would 
lead  up  hill  and  down  hill  several  times,  and 
this  would  be  a  serious  inconvenience  to  the 
men  carrying  the  canoe  and  no  particular  help 

.=)9 


to  those  bearin<T  the  other  burdens.  Hence, 
like  others,  they  preferred  the  straight  path 
with  its  damp  ground.  The  intersection  of  the 
portage  path  with  the  present  Michigan  Road 
is  in  section  25  of  Warren  Township.  To  the 
west  of  this  point,  the  path,  after  quitting  the 
present  line  of  this  road,  lies  mainly  on  the 
property  of  the  Woolverton  homestead.  The 
present  generation  of  that  family  remember  the 
section  of  the  path  lying  on  their  farm  and  re- 
call the  time  when  the  Indians  frequently  came 
this  way  to  reach  the  second  of  the  series  of 
little  ponds  which  lie  to  the  southwest  of  the 
house,  and  which  are  the  \ery  source  of  the 
Kankakee,  as  stated  above.  Charlevoix  him- 
self states  that  his  men  put  the  boat  in  the 
second  of  these  ponds.  The  first  one  lies  in 
the  hills  on  the  south  side  of  the  marsh,  the 
outlet  running  north  to  connect  it  with  the 
second.  He  puts  his  boat  into  the  second  be- 
cause the  first  one  could  not  be  reached  with- 
out a  detour  around  the  eastern  section  of  the 
marsh,  and  because  the  second  pond  in  the 
series  is  the  first  to  which  one  comes  along 
the  line  of  this  path.  Furthermore,  the  first 
and  the  last  of  this  series  of  Charlevoix's  ponds 
are  deeply  imbedded  in  the  hills.  Their  con- 
dition in  La  Salle's  time  was  the  same  as  now, 
except  that  they  probably  had  more  water  at 
that  date.     In  the  summer  they  are  now  nearly 


dry.  One  can  find  a  series  of  ponds  almost 
anywhere  in  the  Kankakee  marsh  land,  but 
the)'  are  of  a  temporary'  nature  and  seldom 
sur\ive  for  many  seasons.  They  are  due  to 
the  fall  fires  burning-  out  the  peat  accumulations 
and  they  are  sometimes  of  considerable  depth. 
But  before  this  land  was  drained,  such  ponds 
disappeared  in  a  few  seasons  from  the  closing 
in  of  the  soft  sides  of  the  slough.  In  getting 
out  of  the  series  of  ponds  on  the  Woolverton 
estate.  Charlevoix's  men  broke  their  boat.  The 
little  stream  connecting  the  pools,  after  leaving 
the  last  one  and  working  its  wa>'  through  a 
piece  of  high  ground,  makes  a  very  sharp  angle 
in  turning  toward  the  bog  at  the  head  of  Chain 
Lakes.  Such  an  angle  was  always  dangerous  to 
navigation  when  birch  bark  canoes  were  in  use. 
The  frail  canoe  h'ing  on  the  water  would  hold 
a  ton's  weight  of  merchandise.  But  if  it  is  to 
be  lifted  from  its  aqueous  surroundings,  its 
contents  must  first  be  carefully  removed,  lest 
any  object  of  even  light  weight  should  spring 
a  seam  or  start  a  rift  in  the  tender  bark.  A 
boat  such  as  we  use  can  easily  be  pulled  around 
a  sharp  angle  in  a  narrow  stream.  But  when 
Charlevoix's  men  tried  to  perform  this  opera- 
tion, they  broke  the  canoe.  They  would  then 
ha\e  no  difficulty  in  finding  the  necessary  resin- 
ous material  for  healing  the  wound,  for  tama- 
racks flourished  in  the  \'icinit}'  of  these  ponds. 


But  after  the  resin  is  gathered,  it  must  be  boiled 
for  several  hours  before  it  is  read)'  for  use. 
Delayed  for  a  day  in  his  journey,  Charlevoix 
sat  down  in  the  pleasant  grove  that  surrounds 
the  spot  and,  having  nothing  else  to  do,  ga\'e 
his  minute  description  of  the  portage  and  these 
ponds.  Thanks  to  that  broken  boat,  we  have 
the  testimony  of  an  eye  witness  whose  state- 
ments, together  with  Hennepin's,  enable  us  to 
trace  throughout  its  entire  length  this  ancient 
highway  of  the  old  life. 

LaHontan,  who  viewed  this  region  during 
LaSalle's  time,  represents  the  Kankakee  as  ris- 
ing in  a  lake  surrounded  by  a  great  beaver 
town.  The  whole  region  of  the  Chain  Lakes 
was  admirably  adapted  to  the  life  of  the  beaver, 
the  sedgy  margins  and  the  very  shallow  waters 
of  the  lakes  being  convenient  for  their  house 
building  and  the  near-by  alder  thickets  supply- 
ing the  materials  The  late  M.  W.  Stokes,  in 
his  map  of  1863,  dignifies  the  morass  north  of 
the  first  lake,  by  a  name  under  which  it  was  then 
known,  Beaver  Lake.  This  presumably  is  from 
the  remains  found  there  by  the  early  settlers. 
These  same  early  settlers  long  referred  to  the 
outlet  at  the  south  extremity  of  the  last  lake 
as  the  place  of  the  beaver  dam,  a  very  large 
one  standing  there  during  the  early  days.  Li- 
deed,  it  is  still  plainly  to  be  seen  where  the 
little  creek  leaves  the  marl  flats  of  the  lake  for 


thf  first  dry  orouiul.  The  old  inhabitants  say 
that  this  dam  was  such  an  unusually  large  one 
fifty  )'ears  ago  that  it  was  well  known  to  e\"ery 
one  who  lived  in  the  neighborhood,  and  a  topic 
of  frequent  conxersation  among  the  fishermen 
and  hunters.  It  is  about  the  last  sur\-i\-ing 
piece  of  evidence  tending  to  confirm  the  truth- 
fulness of  LaHontan's  representations  and  the 
reliability  of  D'Iber\ille's  enthusiastic  letter 
to  the  French  crown,  when  he  declares 
that  this  western  country  had  great  natural 
wealth,  and  that  the  region  of  the  Kankakee 
and  the  St.  Joseph  was  the  place  where 
"beaxers  are  plenty."  Other  e\'idence  of  the 
life  of  the  beax'er  is  sometimes  to  be  found  on 
the  dry  ground  near  the  lakes,  for  here  occa- 
sionally one  may  find  a  bea\'er  tooth.  The  spot 
was  the  site  of  the  Miami  town  referred  to  b)- 
the  earh'  explorers.  It  was  a  very  large  town 
in  LaSalle's  day  ;  for  six  or  seven  thousand  of 
its  inhabitants  went  with  him  from  this  spot  to 
live  near  his  fort  at  Starved  Rock,  on  the  Illi- 
nois River.  According  to  the  Red  Man's  man- 
ner of  life,  such  a  town  would  cover  a  region 
several  miles  in  extent.  "  Mad  "  Anthony 
Wayne  afterward  laid  waste  the  settlement  of 
these  same  Miamis  extending  for  many  miles 
along  the  Maumee.  The  abundant  Indian  re- 
mains in  the  vicinity  show  that  the  Miami  \il- 
lage  here  must  ha\e  quite  surrounded  the  lakes 


and  at  the  {'\mv  of  LaSa!k''s  comiiiL!;',  it  ex- 
ttiulc'd  as  far  as  the  iniddk'  of  the  jirairie 
through  which  the  ])()rtat(c  ran.  l'"or  the  ac- 
count tells  us  that  LaSalle  ccndd  see  the  tops 
of  their  lods^cs  from  the  St.  Joseph  end  of  the 
path.  The  conspicuous  heij^hts  at  the  middle 
of  the  prairie  would  make  this  possible  for 
lodges  standing  there.  Indeed,  Charlevoix  forty 
years  after  LaSalle's  first  \'isit,  found  in  this 
very  place  the  remains  of  a  fortified  village  of 
the  Fox  Indians.  Nearby  springs  made  the 
locality  one  suitable  for  the  Indian's  home. 
But  the  evidences  of  tlie  presence  of  the 
Miamis,  while  numerous  throughout  the  entire 
shore  line  of  these  lakes,  are  most  abundant  on 
the  west  side  of  the  south  lake  and  around  the 
little  outlet,  the  head  of  the  Grapevine. 

Nor  were  the  Miamis  the  only  ones  who  tried 
to  hold  the  portage  in  the  days  agone.  The 
mound-builder,  long  ages  before,  was  here. 
On  the  northwest  bank  of  the  south  lake, 
just  south  of  the  Lake  Shore  tracks,  are  three 
large  mounds  and  two  small  ones.  They  have 
supplied  some  of  the  finest  of  the  copper  axes 
in  the  South  Bend  collections,  and  in  the 
\icinity  are  the  usual  cloth  marked  fragments 
of  pottery  and  broken  stone  implements  indi- 
cating the  presence  of  that  old  race  whose  re- 
mains are  so  conspicuous  throughout  the  valley 
of    the   Kankakee    and  the  Illinois.     In    plain 


view  of  the  mounds  and  of  the  little  outlet 
lower  down  the  lake,  are  the  localities  where 
one  may  find  abundant  remains  of  signal  fires 
on  the  highest  points  of  land  at  the  east  side 
of  the  south  lake.  What  fears  chilled  the 
blood  of  those  ancient  guards  on  these  hill- 
tops? What  hosts  did  they  summon  to  the 
defense  of  this  gateway  between  the  great 
valley  and  the  northland?  And  what  was  the 
issue  of  the  struggle — what  the  fate  of  the  van- 
quished? The  mounds  on  the  west  and  the  hill- 
tops on  the  east,  with  the  quiet  lake  between 
may  share  these  secrets  with  the  stars,  but 
human  records  will  boast  of  little  more  than 
the  bare  truth  that  primitive  man  once  lo\'ed 
these  scenes,  and  here  in  the  da>'  of  his  might 
challenged  the  invading  foe. 

But  the  Miamis,  who  were  the  lords  here  in 
1679,  however  they  might  contend  with  others 
who  would  force  these  gates,  offered  no  pro- 
test to  LaSalle's  passage  through  their  domain. 
The  dignified  manliness  of  his  bearing  com- 
mended this  leader  to  the  heart  of  the  savage. 
The  emphasis  of  his  positive  nature,  coupled 
with  his  far-seeing  prudence  and  his  inflexible 
integrity,  were  the  very  elements  of  character 
with  which  in  those  days  the  Red  Man's  fa\or 
was  easily  won  and  permanently  secured. 
Here  was  a  white  man  with  whom  the  Indian 
could   effect    an   understanding.     And   so    the 

65 


little  party  held  their  way  in  safety  down  the 
oo/.v,  zi<4"zaj^  channel  of  the  Kankakee.  As 
they  disappear  beyond  the  clumps  of  tall 
^rass  we  may  ask  why  those  Frenchmen  were 
strus4\54"lin<4"  throuj^h  this  remote  wilderness  in 
that  year  of  j^race,  1679.  What  did  they  seek 
and  what  motives  prompted  their  cjuest?  They 
souj^ht  empire!  And  those  who  have  followed 
their  further  fortunes  know  at  what  a  fearful 
cost  the  prize  was  ultimately  won.  After  Father 
Marquette  had  discovered  the  Mississippi,  La 
Salle  had  been  the  first  to  understand  that  the 
great  ri\'er  flowed  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and 
not  into  the  Pacific  ocean,  as  many  had  be- 
lieved and  all  had  hoped.  And  he  alone 
seems  to  have  realized  that  immediate  and  vig- 
orous action  was  necessary,  if  the  French  would 
forestall  the  Spaniards  on  the  south  and  the 
English  on  the  east  in  taking  possession  of  the 
great  central  \-alley.  To  seize  and  hold  this 
vast  domain  for  France  he  was  willing  to 
devote  his  worldly  possessions  and  his  life. 
He  felt  that  such  a  prize  would  not  be  dear  at 
any  price  which  he  could  pay  in  honor.  It 
was  his  hope,  however,  that  the  cost  of  the 
undertaking  could  be  met  out  of  the  profits  of 
the  fur  trade,  and  he  naturally  strove  to  make 
those  profits  as  considerable  as  possible.  But 
personal  gains  were  not  a  prime  object  with  La 
Salle   in   any  of  his   undertakings.      His  would 

66 


be  the  exalted  task  of  adding  to  the  French 
realm  and  planting  the  cross  in  fields  where  its 
blessings  had  never  been  felt  and  its  praises 
had  never  been  sung  He  sought  an  empire 
which  should  be  held  in  the  name  of  France 
and  which  should  be  devoted  to  the  glory  of 
God. 

Concerning  this  new  empire,  of  which  the 
valle}^s  of  the  St.  Joseph,  the  Kankakee  and 
the  Illinois  were  to  be  a  conspicuous  part,  the 
priest,  the  tra\'eler  and  the  soldier  of  those  times 
spoke  in  terms  of  unstinted  praise.  They  praised 
the  land  for  its  delightful  climate,  which  they 
maintained  was  well  suited  to  the  culti\'ation 
of  the  grape  and  the  oli\'e.  The  three  \arieties 
of  the  nati\e  grape — the  blue,  the  red  and  the 
white — they  even  declared  superior  to  the 
product  of  French  soil.  They  were  never 
weary  of  descanting  on  the  abundant  food 
suppl}' deri\ed,  chiefly,  from  an  unusually  pro- 
lific soil,  with  its  new  plant  life  of  marvelous 
and  bewildering  variet3^  and,  in  part,  from  the 
wonderful  animal  life  teeming  in  every  lake 
and  stream,  or  thundering  over  the  prairies  in 
\ast  herds  which  no  man  could  count,  or  rising 
on  the  wing  in  darkening  clouds  as  limitless  as 
the  hosts  of  Armageddon. 


67 


THE   WILDERNESS   EMPIRE. 


% 


The  Wilderness  Empire. 

On  hcariiicr  these  tales  of  the  great  West, 
those  who  had  taken  up  their  abode  among  the 
inhospitable  rocks  of  the  lower  St.  Lawrence 
longed  to  exchange  their  cold  sky  for  the  more 
congenial  airs  of  this  favored  clime.  Across  the 
sea  these  stories  of  the  riches  of  the  new  land 
supplied  a  most  exciting  diversion.  The  after- 
dinner  talk  in  Paris  indulged  in  very  pleasant 
speculations  over  the  fresh  glory  that  French- 
men were  to  achieve  in  a  realm  where  nature 
was  so  benign.  Theirs  was  a  prospect  as  invit- 
ing as  it  was  unique.  The  savages  were  to  be 
won  to  the  faith,  and  all  in  sweet  harmony 
were  to  devote  this  land  to  religion  and  the  fur 
trade.  It  was  not  to  be  a  country  of  planted 
fields  and  great  cities.  Frownmg  forts  of  solid 
masonry  were  to  guard  the  marts  where  the  in- 
dustries of  France  might  furnish  suitable 
exchange  for  the  natural  wealth  of  the  wilder- 
ness, and  in  the  shadow  of  bastion  and  turreted 
walls  were  to  rise  the  cloister  and  the  cathedral. 
It  is  not  strange  that  the  modern  historian 
should  have  paused  so  often  to  speculate  on  the 
outcome  that  might  have  been   had  French  life 

71 


realized  the  \ision  that  in  those  old  days  rose 
before  the  court  of  Versailles  and  lonf>"  occu- 
pied an  important  part  in  its  more  serious  plans 
and  purposes,  and  its  pious  as  well  as  pleasing 
meditations.  There  was,  indeed,  the  full  prom- 
ise of  something  very  unique  in  human  affairs — 
a  great  nation  of  de\'out  Catholics,  in  which  a 
worshiper  with  features  overcast  with  American 
bronze  should  lisp  Christian  prayers  in  French 
accents;  a  race  in  which  the  gay  and  pleasure- 
loving  ways  of  a  mild  peasantry  should  be 
harmoniously  commingled  with  those  of  the 
cautious,  keen-eyed  and  meditative  Indian. 
It  might  ha\e  been,  it  would  ha\'e  been,  had  it 
not  become  necessary  to  reckon  with  the 
aggressive  Anglo-Saxon;  for  it  was  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  that,  with  little  ceremony  and  less 
regret,  tore  from  its  gilded  frame  the  last  ves- 
tiges of  the  fair  picture.  And  yet  France  had 
been  given  a  hundred  years  in  which  to  work 
out  her  dream — a  hundred  years  in  which  the 
English  language  was  to  be  a  barbarous  and 
unfamiliar  jargon  to  the  white  men  living  on 
the  banks  of  our  ri\'er.  A  hundred  years,  and 
yet  how  little  now  survives  to  tell  of  that  old 
life!  The  antiquarian  knows  where,  in  some 
secluded  spot,  the  spade  and  sieve  will  bring  to 
light  a  gun-flint,  a  few  glass  beads,  a  silver 
buckle  and  a  hand  wrought  nail;  and  such  are 
almost   the  sole  remains  of  French  empire  in 


all  the  g-reat  \'alley.  It  mii^ht  ha\c  been  other- 
wise, it  doubtless  would  have  been,  had  any 
worthy  successors  appeared  to  take  up  the  work 
of  LaSalle  andTonty.  Had  the  spirit  of  LaSalle, 
which  was  the  practical  and  indomitable  spirit 
of  our  a,t3;e,  and  which  was  worthy  of  any  aqe, 
had  his  spirit  found  a  proper  appreciation  at 
home  and  a  suitable  following  here,  it  must  ha\'e 
wrought  out  for  his  native  land  much  more 
than  the  full  fruition  of  her  fondest  hopes.  It 
must  have  wrought  out  for  his  beloved  France 
and  for  his  still  more  beloved  faith  a  permanent 
empire,  secure  against  the  Anglo-Saxon  and 
the  world. 


73 


\D 


%      W 


w 

H 
H 

2 


THE    MIAMI    TREATY. 


The  Miami  Treaty. 


The  American  In- 
dian has  always  hail- 
ed with  delight  anv 
proposal  for  a  friend- 
ly council.  His  most 
conspicuous  figure  in 
recorded  history  is 
connected  with  the 
treaties  made  through 
the  free  exchange  of 
opinions  at  such  a 
council.  He  was  fond 
of  the  council,  be- 
cause it  enabled  him 
to  display  such  sav- 
age finery  as  his 
wardrobe  might  in- 
clude, and  because  of 
the  feast  of  good 
things  and  the  gen- 
eral hilarity  that  fol- 
lowed the  solemn  de- 
liberations. But  the 
supreme  attraction  of  the  council  was  the  thea- 

77 


A    KANKAKEK 


Icr  which  it  ah)iu'  alTorclcd  for  a  public 
exhibition  of  the  phihisopliN'  and  the  rhet- 
oric of  the  woods.  The  "  apphiuse  of  a  con- 
senting  multitude"  was  the  object  of  an  Indian's 
highest  ambition  and  the  source  of  his  kt-enest 
gratification.  The  studious  decorum  w  ith  whicli 
these  assemblies  were  regulated,  the  moving- 
eloquence  of  their  orators  and  the  care  wMth 
which  every  opinion  was  weighed,  ha\-e  filled 
the  page  of  the  chronicler  with  expressions  of 
astonishment  and  admiration. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  a  celebrated 
treaty  made  by  white  people  with  the  Indians 
was  the  outcome  of  such  a  council  held  on  our 
Portage  Prairie  in  i68i.  The  parties  to  this  com- 
pact were,  on  the  one  hand,  LaSalle  and  his 
followers  and,  on  the  other,  the  Miami  nation. 
This  treat}'  was  one  of  the  most  important 
achie^'ements  of  LaSalle's  life,  since  it  alone,  at 
that  juncture,  could  insure  the  success  of  his 
plans.  The  great  French  explorer,  as  we  ha\'e 
seen,  had  penetrated  these  western  regions,  and 
ha\'ing  built  forts,  was  seeking  to  hold  the  coun- 
try in  the  interests  of  the  F'rench  crown  and  to 
control  the  fur  trade.  But  the  fierce  Iroquois 
Indians  of  New  York  were  also  in  this  territory 
with  their  war  parties,  seeking-  to  subjugate  the 
\arious  tribes  and  secure  their  trade  in  the 
interests  of  the  English  on  the  Hudson.  Noth- 
ing in  the  annals  of  saxage  warfare  is  more  ter- 


rible  than  the  depredations  committed  by  these 
Iroquois  in  this  western  country-.  During- 
LaSalle's  absence  they  had  destroyed  the  oreat 
town  of  the  Illinois  tribe  and  compelled  the 
remnant  of  that  people  to  fly  far  into  the  depths 
of  the  wilderness.  They  threatened  the  utter 
ruin  of  all  the  plans  of  the  French.  To  check 
the  Iroquois  and  to  pro\-ide  for  the  common 
defense  of  the  native  inhabitants,  LaSalle 
sought  to  form  a  coalition  of  all  the  western 
tribes  and  to  mo\e  the  principal  bands  to  the 
\icinity  of  Star\'ed  Rock,  on  the  Illinois  river. 
He  had  matured  such  a  plan  while  spending  the 
winter  at  his  stronghold,  Fort  Miami,  at  the 
mouth  of  our  St.  Joseph  river.  He  had  retreated 
to  this  place  for  safety  after  having  witnessed 
the  desolation  of  the  Illinois  town.  He  found 
the  various  tribes  favorable  to  such  a  plan  of 
defense  against  the  great  enemy  from  the  east; 
but  its  permanent  success  could  not  be  assured 
until  he  had  won  the  powerful  Miamis  to  the 
support  of  the  cause.  The  Iroquois,  howexer, 
were  subtle  enough  to  discover  what  was  going 
on  and,  anticipating  the  movements  of  the 
French,  they  laid  siege  to  the  hearts  of  the 
Miamis  with  such  success  as  to  strongly  incline 
them  toward  the  English.  At  this  critical 
moment,  LaSalle,  with  ten  companions,  \-isited 
the  town  of  the  Miamis  on  our  Portage  Prairie 
and  in  the  Chain  Lakes  region,  and  in\ited  these 


Indiums  to  a  council.  They  consented  to  hear 
what  LaSalle  mij^ht  ha\e  to  say.  They  would 
iiold  a  council  at  the  lodge  of  their  head  chief 
on  a  certain  day  and  when  the  sun  stood  at  a 
certain  height  in  the  heavens. 

This  head  chief  was  a  very  remarkable  man. 
Both  the  Jesuit  missionary,  Father  Dablon,  and 
also  Nicholas  Perrot,  the  most  famous  of  all  voy- 
ageurs,  have  left  tributes  to  his  memory.  They 
represent  him  as  kind-hearted  and  gentlemanly 
and  possessing  great  intellectual  penetration. 
So  just  and  wise  was  he  that  he  was  held  in 
great  esteem,  even  among  other  tribes  more  or 
less  hostile  to  the  Miamis,  as  was  shown  in  the 
delegations  which  such  tribes  were  constantly 
sending  to  consult  this  wilderness  law-giver 
concerning  their  own  affairs.  Father  Dablon 
says  that  he  was  a  savage  only  in  name.  Yet 
this  priest  was  probably  the  first  white  man 
whom  the  chief  had  seen.  When  the  hour  for 
the  council  arrived  some  of  the  mats  were 
lifted  from  the  lodge  of  this  head  chief  and  the 
tent  poles  moved  to  one  side,  so  that  the  peo- 
ple might  see  the  council  and  might  hear  the 
discourse  and  understand  the  nature  of  the 
transactions  that  were  going  forward.  The 
prominent  warriors  of  the  tribe  were  arranged 
in  a  semi-circle  on  either  side  of  their  great 
leader,  and  before  them  stood  LaSalle  with  his 
companions  around  him. 


'Vhv  scciK'  was  one  well  worthy  of  the  brusii 
ol  some  i^reat  artist.  Tlu'  little  prairie  oxc-r 
which  their  j^lances  swe])!  from  time  to  time, 
and  throuj^h  which  the  portage  path  then  ran, 
is  spoken  of  Ly  the  early  traxeler  as  a  place  of 
IU'reat  bc-auty.  Its  eastern  niar,<j;"in  reaches  in 
one  spot  almost  to  the  landing  on  the  St. 
Joseph,  where  the  Frenchmen  had  drawn  their 
canoes  out  ot  the  water,  and  after  rising  h\- 
gentle  swells  to  the  high  point  where  these 
lodges  of  the  Miamis  then  stood,  the  plain 
sinks  gradually  to  the  west  to  that  series  of 
ponds  and  little  lakes  that  are  the  very  source 
of  the  Kankakee  Ri\er.  From  the  ele\-ated 
spot  at  the  centre,  the  \ision  easil}'  includes 
many  miles  along  the  charming  valle\'  of  the 
•St.  Joseph  on  the  east,  the  tract  where  .South 
Bend  now  stands.  In  that  day.  syhan  axenues 
replaced  our  streets  and  gigantic  forest  trees 
our  dwellings,  trees  that  stood  far  apart  and 
lifted  their  lowermost  branches  thirty  to  forty 
feet  from  the  ground.  Beneath,  no  under- 
growth was  allowed  to  survi\-e.  but  e\ery- 
w  here  was  spread  a  soft,  thick  turf,  while  here 
and  there  in  the  park-like  vistas  could  be 
seen  the  antlered  buck  or  the  does  with  their 
fawns. 

I3ut  wluii  those  who  had  assembled  for  this 
council  turned  their  e}'es  to  the  south  and  the 
west,  they  l)elnl(l   the   great   fens   and   marshes 


ol  the  KankalsTc'  land  s\\ ccpiiiL^'  lar  away  with 
tlu' ri\ri"'s  onward  coursi'  to  the  plains  ot  Illi- 
nois and  tlu'  I\Iississij)j)i.  (ilistminii'  i)ools 
everywhere  dotted  this  vast  area,  pools  that 
were  the  homes  of  counlhss  millions  ot  water- 
fowls. Flocks  ol  ploNcr  and  snipe  sw(])l 
around  the  borders  of  the  marsh  land,  while 
the  cranes  stootl  in  a  row  in  the  shallow 
water,  or  rising'  on  slow  and  ])onderons  i)in- 
ions,  filed  off  in  a  nex'cr  \-aryin,s4'  line  toward 
the  sky's  silver  edge.  A  \'erital)le  cloud  of 
ducks  and  geese  and  swans  coming  in  Irom 
the  swift  cold  waters  of  the  St.  Joseph,  fell  into 
the  silent  pools  with  splash  and  clamor  and 
confusion  of  buffeting  wings.  The  unac- 
customed e}'e  ot  the  guest  in  this  hulian  en- 
campment must  ha\'e  gi\en  more  than  a 
passing  glance  to  this  endless  whirl  ol  hai)])y 
life  that  fluttered  o\'er  the  marshes.  Hut  the 
red  skinned  host  fi.xed  his  gaze  not  on  the 
water  fowls,  not  on  the  hundreds  of  hawks  that 
patrolled  the  vast  fields  of  wild  rice,  but  upon 
the  great  war  eagles  that  rose  on  slanting  pin- 
ions, "  climbing  their  airy  spirals  to  the  clouds." 
Happy  the  Indian  whose  bra\e  deeds  were  such 
that  his  tribe  would  allow  him  to  fasten  to  his 
hair  the  plumes  of  the  war  eagle.  Each  feather 
is  an  historical  record  The  first  one  stands 
for  the  bra\e  act  in  w  hich  this  hero  overcame 
his    peo])le's    foe   at    the    ford    near  the  ]  ortage 

83 


landing-.  The  lu-xt  marks  thr  time  wlicn  he 
repulsed  the  Kickapoos  that  lay  in  the  tall 
s^'i'asses  aloii^;'  the  Kankakee  to  amhush  a  Miami 
hunter.  And  this  third  feather  stands  for  the 
\'ictory  which  he  won  when  the  youiii;'  men  of 
his  tribe  contended  with  the()ttawas  on  this 
\(ry  ])rairie  in  their  famous  Ijall-play. 

Hut  concerns  aj)parently  mort.-  important 
tlian  the  hirds  of  the  air  filled  the  mind  of  La- 
Salleas  he  turned  to  meet  the  i^iance  of  those 
flashin.!^"  eyes  that  alone  Lfaxe  animation  to  tin- 
dark  and  ris^id  features  of  these  men  of  the 
wilderness.  ( )ne  can  picture  in  his  fancy  the 
stalwart  explorer,  with  ])enetratiny-  e\'e,  flouim^- 
hair,  and  l)ronzed,  stern  xMsai^e,  standin;^'  fear- 
less and  self-reliant  and  drawing"  to  himself  the 
unflinchini^-  j^aze  of  those  solemn  auditors. 
LaSalle,  at  the  height  of  his  stron;^-  manhood, 
was  then  thirt)'-se\'en  )'ears  of  ao"e  and  in  per- 
fect health.  He  was  of  powerful  mold,  |)ut 
there  was  nothin<4"  of  tlie  l^ras^'i^art  in  his  dispo- 
sition; yet,  when  it  Ijecame  necessar^■,  he  dis- 
played l)()th  his  physical  strength  and  his 
mental  force.  He  was  a  genuine  human  dy- 
namo when  thoroughly  aroused  and  in  acticni. 
Neither  affri<j;hted  by  i^'oblins,  nor  awed  by 
threats,  he  was,  withal,  a  culti\ated  and  refined 
gentleman,  and  could  shine  in  the  palace  of  a 
kinii"  ^^^  \^'-'"  '1^  '11  this  Red  Man's  wiLjwam. 
The   listeniuL;"  warriors  were  quickly  mo\ed  by 

83 


his  cl(»(iiniicc.  for  LaSallc  was  (U(])l\-  skilUd 
in  the  forensic  arts  as  the)'  held  sway  at  that 
time  ill  the  American  forest.  His  first  act  was 
to  ch'stribiite  amoni;'  them  some  t()l)acco.  This. 
he  said,  was  to  clear  the  brains  of  his  auditory. 
But  LaSalle  knew  well  that  with  these  Indians 
the  act  would  stand  for  somethint;'  more.  With 
them  the  use  of  tobacco  was,  primarily,  a  re- 
ligious ceremony.  They  rej^'arded  tobacco  as 
the  especial  .L;'ift  of  the  Great  Spirit  to  his  ml 
children,  and  they  thoug'ht  that  he  was  greatly 
pleased  to  see  them  enjoy  his  especial  gift. 
So  LaSalle's  first  appeal  was  to  their  religious 
instincts.  This  founder  of  French  empire  in 
the  West  had  come  into  the  wilderness  well 
prepared  for  his  arduous  task.  At  his  home 
on  the  St.  Lawrence,  he  had  made  a  profound 
study  of  Indian  character,  as  his  conduct  on 
this  occasion  j)lainly  reveals,  for  he  next 
kindles  their  emotions  by  a  s}-mpathetic  allusion 
to  their  dead.  Unfolding  before  their  aston- 
ished gaze  great  bundles  of  rich  k^"ench 
cloths,  "These,"  said  he,  "are  to  co\"er  the 
gra\'es  of  ycTur  dead."  And  then  he  placed  in 
their  hands  some  well-made  garments,  which  he 
declared  were  also  for  the  comfort  of  the  dead. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  any  of 
these  gifts  would  actually  be  laid  on  the  forest 
tomb.  It  was  onh-  the  Indian  way  of  saying 
that  he  Ijestowed   these  gifts  on   the  li\ing  as  a 


rdiiiplinuiit  to  the  cK-ad  that  his  rcs))cct  for 
th(,-  li\iii!^-  was  such  as  to  animate  him  with  a 
(K'sire  to  hold  in  sy-mpathctic  memory  e\en 
those  of  their  friends  wlio  had  passed  awa\'. 
Then  he  went  a  step  farther,  and  stated  that  he 
had  heard  of  the  recent  death  of  one  of  their 
chiefs.  "I  ha\e  determined."  said  LaSalle,  "to 
hrini^-  him  hack  to  Hfe."  This  was  their  way  of 
sa\"in^'  that  he  would  proxide  clothing;"  and  food 
for  the  family  of  the  dead  chief.  The  audi- 
ence understood  his  figure  of  speech  and  broke 
forth  into  a  perfect  rapture  of  applause.  He 
had  now   won  their  hearts. 

And  does  it  seem  stran,<4"e  that  Indian  hearts 
should  be  won  by  a  respectful  reference  to  their 
dead  ?  Was  the  memory  of  the  departed  such 
a  tenderly  sacred  thing  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Red  Manr  Did  he  truly  lo\e  the  s^raves  of  his 
fatht'rs  ?  Read  the  stor\-  of  the  remo\al  of 
an\'  Indian  tribe,  of  our  Pottawattomies,  for  ex- 
ample, from  its  home  country  to  some  allotment 
of  land  in  the  southwest.  In  ev'ery  case  it  will 
be  found  that  one  of  the  stroni^-est  objections 
uroed  ai^ainst  yieldino-  their  ancestral  territory 
is  the  pain  they  feel  at  the  loss  of  the  ora\es 
of  their  friends.  This  objection  the  white  man 
has  commonly  laughed  to  scorn,  nor  has  he 
been  at  any  ])ains  to  conceal  his  contempt  for 
what  he  has  deemed  a  mere  subterfuge.  P)Ut 
in  truth,  the   Indian   practices    no  deception    in 

8.5 


this  inattir.  lIi'  is  \iTy  sinciTc  in  what  he 
says.  I  [r  h)\(^  thi'  t^raws  ot  his  fniiids.  hr- 
causc  hr'^has  no  xn't  of  (h)uht  that  thr  (K'ad 
still  li\f  and  huiL;'  tor  sxmpatlHtic  attention, 
and  that  their  s])irits  maybe  conimnned  with 
at  the  toml).  It  may  he  recalled  that  nearl\- 
four  thousand  of  the  Cherokees  perislu'd  when 
the  tribe  made  thi'  journcN'  from  tlieir  home 
in  Georoia  te)  Arkansas,  and  that  of  these,  it  is 
said,  none  perished  of  an)'  know  n  disease.  We 
say  of  any  known  disease,  because  modern  cul- 
ture reg'ards  lightly  the  disease  once  spoken  of 
as  a  broken  heart.  They  declared  that  it  was 
the  .<4"ra\"es  of  their  friends  for  which  the\' 
mourned.  The  wliite  man  smiled  in  derision 
and  the  ca\"alcade  of  sorrow  moxed  on  tlirouL^h 
the  \-alleys  and  o\er  the  hills  of  Tennessee. 
But  one  by  one.  they  fell  out  of  the  ranks  and 
crept  up  under  the  shades  of  the  hemlock  and 
pine,  and  throwing"  themselves  on  the  bosom 
of  Mother  Earth,  died  of  a  broken  heart.  It 
is  true  that  not  many  of  us  can  die  of  a  broken 
heart,  but  almost  an}-  Indian  could.  We  are 
sorr^•  that  our  ancestors  did  not  imderstand  the 
Indian.  We  wish  that  they  could  ha\e  under- 
stood him  as  the  French  did.  as  LaSalle  did. 
The  latter  ha\"ing  won  their  hearts,  proceeded 
to  show"  them  at  this  council  what  great  achan- 
tages  might  be  theirs,  if  the}'  would  stand  un- 
der the  banner  of  the  great   king,  referring"  to 


86 


Louis  XIW  And  llu'ii  lu'  ])aus(.'(l  lo  ilistribulc 
anioiiL;  tlu'in  a  whok'  hoal  load  ot  axi's  and 
i^iins  and  l)lankcts  and  heads  and  knixcsand 
ornaments,  all  as  an  t'X))rcssion  of  the  good 
will  of  the  great  king. 

These  things  done.  LaSalle  resumed  his  dis- 
course. "  He  who  is  my  master."  said  he.  "and 
the  master  of  all  this  country,  is  a  might)" 
chief,  feared  by  the  whole  world  ;  l)ut  he  lo\es 
peace,  and  the  words  of  his  lips  are  for  good 
alone,  lie  is  called  the  King  of  France,  and 
he  is  the  mightiest  among  the  chiefs  beyond 
the  great  water.  His  goodness  reaches  even  to 
ycnir  dead,  and  his  subjects  come  among  you 
to  raise  them  up  to  life.  But  it  is  his  will  to 
preserve  the  life  he  has  gi\en  ;  it  is  his  will 
that  you  should  obey  his  laws,  and  make  no 
war  without  leave  of  Onontio,  who  commands 
in  his  name  at  Quebec  and  who  lo\'es  all  the 
nations  alike,  because  such  is  the  will  of  the 
great  king.  You  ought,  then,  to  li\e  at  peace 
with  your  neighbors,  and  above  all  with  the 
Illinois.  You  ha\e  had  causes  of  quarrel  with 
them  ;  but  their  defeat  has  axenged  \"ou. 
Though  they  are  still  strong,  they  wish  to  make 
peace  with  you.  Be  content  with  the  glory  of 
ha\ing  obliged  them  to  ask  for  it.  You  ha\e 
an  interest  in  preserving  them  ;  since,  if  the 
Irocjuois  destroy  them.  the\'  will  ne.xt  destroy 
\'ou.     Let  us  all  obev  the   ijrt'at   kin<>'   and   li\e 


toj^ctluT  in  |)i-;kh'  iindrr  his  piotcolidii.  15c  of 
my  mind,  and  use  tlusc  .L;iins  thai  I  ha\c  ^ixcn 
you,  not  to  make  war,  hut  only  to  hunt  and  to 
(K  t\nd  yourscl\i's." 

And  now,  to  confirm  his  words  and  to  su|)])l\' 
them  with  a  token  ol  his  jjled^i-  to  br  their  de- 
ti'nder,  lie  handed  to  their  chii'l  two  belts  ol 
wampum.  This  is  the  subject  ot  the  second 
painting-,  "The  Miami  Treat}'." 

The  chief  recei\ed  the  tokens.  I  lis  act  was 
sii>nificant,  for  it  sliowed  that  In-  and  his  pe()i)le 
were  disposed  to  consider  cari'fully  the  projjo- 
sitions  of  their  French  .^uest.  The  chief  made 
no  further  reply,  but  dissoK'ed  the  council. 
He  ccndd  make  no  further  repl}-  until  the  mem- 
bers ot  his  tribe  had  been  !4'i\'en  an  opportunity 
to  express  their  preferences.  But  they  did 
not  deliberate  long  amont^"  themsel\-es,  for  it 
was  found  that  all  with  one  accord  called 
loudh"  for  the  French  alliance.  .So  the  follow- 
ing" day  the  council  was  conxened  again,  and 
the  chief  ^iwc  the  tribe's  endorsement  of  a 
treaty  of  mutual  helpfulness  between  Miami 
and  Frenchmen.  The  oration  of  the  chief 
was  a  series  of  metaphors  in  which  he  accepts 
for  his  people  the  protection  of  the  threat  kinf(, 
and  pled.oes  to  his  cause  the  "  bea\er  and  the 
lands  of  the  Miamis,"  and  themseK'es  indixid- 
ually — bod}',  intellect  and  heart.  His  speech 
has   all    the   ecstacv  and   sincerity  of   a   loxer's 


soul;'.  And  t  he  AiiLj'li'-Saxon  iiuist  ;i(lniit  lliat 
It  \\a>  i^Tcally  to  the  crrdit  ot  the  i'"i"c-iu"h  that 
their  tiiipiics  in  the  AiiKaican  u  ihlfnicss  wrir 
thus  wooed  and  won. 


*  About  seven  tliousand  of  thest-  MiMiiiis  wpul  willi  LaS.illi'  ami 
took  up  their  abode  at  Starved  Rock,  on  the  Illinois  river.  After 
LaSalle  had  lost  his  life  in  Texas  and  Tonty  had  retirea  from  the 
Illinois  country.  Father  Allouez  brouRht  back  a  remnant  of  these 
peopli'  to  their  old  lioine  on  the  St.  .lose])li. 


Knmi  ;i  paiiiliiit;-  I'V  L.  ( 'l:i relict'  Hall. 
APPROACHING    STORM    ON    THE    KANKAKEE. 


ANCIENT    AND    /WODERN    TESTIMONY. 


Ancient  and  Modern  Testimony. 

'I'lif  accounts  oC  tlic  parl>'  I'xplorci-s  refer  to  a  pi-airic 
as  lyiiifi-  bctwi'iMi  tlic  St.  Josepli  river  and  tlie  head  walrrs 
of  tlif  Kankakee  ami  slate  thai  a  porlane  path  passiiiir 
from  one  ol'  tliesc  ri\'ers  to  llie  olhor  ran  across  this 
prairie.  The  head  waters  of  tin-  l\aid<akee  are  in  our 
county  and  arr  wtdl  known,  and  tiic  prairie  referred  to 
i>  alike  conspicuous,  Thi'  latter  lias  always  been  known 
from  the  first  scttleinent  l\v  the  present  poi)ulalion  as 
Porta.iie  prairie,  and  it  lies  l)etweeii  the  St.  Joseph  and 
oiu'  (d'  the  two  sourct's  of  the  Kankakee.  Xo  prairie  lies 
l)et  ween  the  St,  .loseph  and  the  ot  her  source  of  the  Kan- 
kakee, There  can  be  no  doul)t.  then,  that  tln'  re-ion 
which  we  call  Porta.iie  prairie  is  the  one  o\er  whi(di  the 
French  explorers  passed  in  uoinu'  from  the  w;iter-shed 
of  the  CJreat  Lakes  to  that  of  the  ilississippi.  whiui  they 
nseil  the  roiUe  of  the  St,  .loseph.  The  record  of  ilu'ir 
passage  ihrouiih  its  confines  is  preserved  in  the  very 
name  of  the  prairie  itself.  •"Portage"  prairie,  \ut\ 
not  only  did  the  explorers  clearly  state  that  the  portat^e 
used  in  ancient  times  crcssed  this  prairie.  l)ut  Charle- 
voix has  carefully  described  the  latter. 

It  is  plain,  however,  that  the  modern  portai^es  did  not 
cross  this  prairie.  Many  of  the  government  maps  and 
early  surveys  refer  to  them  as  elsewhere:  namely,  fai-tlier 
u|)  the  river.  The  township  in  wiii(di  South  lieml  is 
located  is  calletl  Portage  township.  ap[)arently  reeordiiiii' 
the  fact  that  some  of  the  modern  portages  led  tliroui^h 
its  confines.  The  ancient  portage  could  not  ha\e  led 
through  our  township,  because  it  led  across  the  jiraiiie 

93 


wliifli  is  iiol  ill  our  l(>\viislii|>.  hut  is  in  (iiTiiiaii  Iciwn- 
sliip.  heluw  us  un  ihi-  rixer.  Therefore,  we  ciniclud'' 
I  liai  the  modern  portages  led  through  Portage  township — 
and  many  people  now  living  remember  that  such  was 
I  he  ease  and  llial  ihi'  (indent  portage  led  across  INirtuiii- 
inaiiir.  the  jiorlage  patli  leaving  the  Si.  .losepli  wlien- 
jirairie  and  river  most  nearly  approach  each  other.  'I'liis 
jihiee  of  nearest  approach  is  at  the  pronounced  bend  oT 
our  ri\er  tt)  the  west,  in  Section  27.  German  township. 

.\n(l  not  only  does  the  position  of  this  prairii'  establish 
the  route  of  the  portage  path,  but  the  line  of  this  path 
and  the  place  where  it  left  the  St.  Joseph,  are  both  just 
where  one  might  reasonably  suppose  them  to  ha\  e  been: 
for.  it  is  natural  to  believe  that  the  path  would  ha\f 
left  the  St.  Joseph  at  a  point  where  this  river  approached 
nearest  to  the  accessible  waters  of  the  Kankakee.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  shortest  distance  between  the 
two  rivers  would  have  been  the  route  of  the  portage  in 
ancient  times,  all  things  being  eipial:  because  those 
making  the  trip  were  compelled  to  carry  their  boats  and 
luggage  from  river  to  river,  and  the  saving  of  even  a  few 
rods  under  such  circumstances  would  have  been  most 
desirable.  To  go  up  the  river  further  than  this  point 
in  (ierman  township  is  to  compel  the  tra\eller  to  come 
back  on  his  course,  in  order  to  make  the  detour  of  tlie 
northeast  end  of  the  Kankakee  marsh.  This  woidd  be  no 
objection  in  modern  times,  when  wagons  and  horses 
were  to  be  had  and  the  boats  and  luggage  could  be 
hauled  to  any  convenient  spot  on  the  Kankakee,  as  at 
Chess'  Island  or  at  Crum's Point.  lUii  in  ancient  times, 
having  neither  horses  nor  wagons,  they  would  surely 
seek  the  shortest  distance  between  the  two  rivers.  This 
is  a  straight  line  leaving  this  westerly  bend  of  the  St 
Joseph  in  German  township  and  extending  nearly  Aw*- 
west  across  this  Portage  prairie  to  the  little  ponds  tlial 


lir  at  the  ht-ad  of  Chain  Lakfs:  ami  llii.s  clistaiicc  is 
between  4J  and  4  85-100  miles. 

Again,  we  may  know  that  this  spot  on  our  river  is 
the  one  where  the  portage  began,  because  of  its  geo- 
graphical location.  Following  the  meanderings  of  the 
ri\er.  South  Bend  is  located  about  70  miles  from  the 
niuutli  of  the  St.  Joseph  and  about  five  miles  above  this 
bi'inl  in  German  township.  Tont}',  the  friend  and  com- 
panion of  LaSalle,  states  that  LaSalle  and  party  ascended 
the  St.  Joseph  27  leagues.  The  Canadian  leagui'.  which 
is  the  equivalent  of  the  French  Posting  league,  is  '2.41 
miles  (2.42210).  Taking  the  Canadian  league  as  th.' 
standard  in  use  by  LaSalle  and  party,  the  distance  from 
till'  mouth  of  the  river  to  this  bend  is,  according  to 
Toniy.  65*^  miles.  Tonty's  estimate  of  the  distance  thus 
conforms  closely  to  the  known  distance  from  this  bend 
1(1  the  mouth  of  the  river.  And  here  let  it  be  staled 
that  if  we  take  the  French  league,  3.025  miles,  which 
some  have  sought  to  maintain  was  the  standard  in  use. 
it  would  make  the  distance  of  the  portage  Slj  miles 
Ironi  the  mouth  of  the  river,  or  more  than  10  mili  s 
laiiiiiT  ui)  the  river.  To  go  10  miles  farther  up  the 
river,  is  to  go  far  away  from  any  i^rairie  that  could  have 
been  used  and  far  awa\'  from  any  waters  tributary  to 
the  Kankakee.  (See  letters  herewith  from  (Jen.  John  S. 
Clark,  of  Auburn,  X.  Y.) 

The  foregoing  facts  satisfy  us  that  the  portagi'  path 
left  the  St.  Joseph  river  at  this  bend  in  Cerman  town- 
siiip.  ]>ut  in  what  pari  oT  the  bend  did  it  leavi'  tin- 
river?  The  very  high  and  steep  bluff  rising  from  the 
water's  edge  throughout  the  curve  of  this  bend  makes 
us  believe  that  the  path  must  have  left  the  river  either 
on  the  north  side,  where  there  is  an  old  time  depression 
leading  <lown  from  the  direction  of  the  oiicn  prairie  at 
the  place  of  the  prairie's  nearest  approach  to  the  St. 
.loseph:  or.   tln'   path    mu^t    have    lei'l    tin-   river  on  the 


south  side  i>f  (ho  boixl,  where  Mr.  IJrooklield  locates  one 
of  the  earliest  of  the  modern  portages.  Mr.  Brookfield 
lived  near  this  ix-nd  of  the  river  from  1828  to  18.*^].  'I'hat 
the  jiorta.i^c  i)ath  used  by  LaSalle  left  the  river  on  ihe 
iioi-tii  side  of  this  l)end  is  determined  by  the  following' 
e\ idence  : 

Mr.  Park  man  states  in  his  work.  "  LaSalle  and  the  Dis- 
fover.y  of  the  (iroat  West,"  (see  note  on  paf^e  154.)  that 
Charlevoix  has  given  a  graphic  account  of  this  portage 
used  by  LaSalle  and  that  the  account  is  to  be  found  in 
one  of  the  letters  in  the  Journal  of  Charlevoix's  travels. 
Ill  his  .louriial  Charlevoix  states  that  he  came  up  from 
Fort  St.  Joseph,  located  where  Niles  now  stands,  that 
is.  just  abo\e  the  river  dam  at  Niles,  a  distance  of  about 
six  leagues,  or  14|  miles.  This  corresponds  to  liie 
known  distance  of  this  bend  of  the  river  from  the  siti' 
of  old  fort  St.  Joseph.  Charlevoix  states  that  he  dis- 
embarked on  the  right  and  walked  5J  leagues,  ■"  first 
following  the  edge  of  the  water,  then  across  the  fields 
into  a  great  prairie."  Now.  for  more  than  a  mile  below 
this  bend  it  was  possible  for  Charlevoix  to  disembark 
and  follow  along  the  edge  of  the  water  as  far  as  the  place 
of  landing  on  the  north  side  of  the  bend.  Had  the  place 
of  landing  been  farther  up  the  river,  he  could  not  have 
followed  beyond  the  north  point,  because  of  the  high 
and  very  precipitous  bank  coming  to  the  water's  edge 
along  the  line  of  the  cur\  e.  He  followetl  along  the  edge 
of  the  water  so  as  to  be  near  the  i)oat  because  it  was 
dangerous  for  one  member  to  be  separated  from  his 
]>arty.  He  does  not  say  that  his  men  took  the  l)oal 
from  the  water,  nor  would  they  have  carried  the  boat 
and  luggage  while  they  were  able  to  advance  on  their 
waj^  by  continuing  on  the  river.  They  could  not  advance 
oil  their  way  beyond  this  north  point,  nor  could  Charle- 
\iii.\-  have  followed  them  "at  the  edge  of  the  water. "" 
had   lliev  gone   further.      It   therefore  seems  iiiexiiable 


that  both  the  pedestrian  on  shore  and  his  men  in  the 
canoe  must  have  come  to  the  landing  at  the  north  point 
of  the  bend  in  the  river  and  their  journey  on  the  St. 
Joseph  terminated  here.  Had  Charlevoix  disembarked 
on  the  southern  extremity  of  this  bend  in  the  river,  he 
could  have  followed  along  the  edge  of  the  water  only  as 
he  took  a  direction  opposite  to  the  prairie  acro.ss  which 
he  desired  to  go  and  really  did  go. 

Again,  Hennepin  states  that  "this  place,"  the  land- 
ing, "is  situated  on  the  borders  of  a  large  field."  The 
spot  on  the  south  side  of  this  bend  was  not  situated  on 
the  border  of  any  kind  of  a  field.  The  spot  on  the  north 
side  was  so  situated  on  the  border  of  a  large  field.  The 
testimony  of  those  who  saw  the  prairie  in  a  state  of 
nature,  as  well  as  the  soil  itself,  afHrms  that  the  prairie 
extended  down  to  and  across  the  present  Niles  road  as 
far  as  the  beginning  of  the  old  time  depression  leading- 
down  to  the  landing  on  the  north  side  of  the  bend; 
while  no  witness  that  "we  have  ever  been  able  to  find, 
has  atlirmed  that  the  prairie  in  any  way  approached  the 
point  on  the  south  side  of  the  bend,  the  fields  surround- 
ing it  being  covered  with  heavy  timber.  Some  of  the 
witnesses  who  have  testified  concerning  the  old  line  of 
the  prairie  are  Robert  Cissne,  Joshua  D.  Miller,  Robert 
Myler  and  the  late  James  R.  Miller,  and  the  soil  itself 
confirms  their  testimony. 

Also,  it  seems  reasonable  that  those  who  used  the 
portage  should  have  left  the  river  at  the  point  where 
they  could  find  the  most  direct  route  to  the  accessible 
waters  of  the  Kankakee.  This  spot  is  on  the  north  side 
of  the  bend,  as  the  map  will  show. 

We  know  of  no  reason  why  anyone  should  suppose 
that  the  ancient  portage  path  left  the  river  on  the  south 
side  of  the  bend,  except  the  fact  that  Mr.  Brookfield  so 
located  the  portage  landing  in  use  in  his  day.  When 
horses  were  used,  the  portage  might  well  have  left  the 


rixcral  I  ln'  pi)iiil  wIhmt  Mr.  linxiklii'ld's  hind  caini'ln 
I  III'  ri\ cr  ;uid  wlicrc  he  had  laid  out  a  Idwii.  Td  sh(tw 
ihai  Mr.  IJrookfield's  representations  in  the  mailer  arc 
iiiil  n'lial)h\  we  ^vish  to  call  attention  to  liic  fact  that 
while  Mr.  I'lrookfirld  in  his  niiip  of  the  locality  locates 
the  portage  landing  on  the  south  side  of  the  i)end,  he 
states  in  his  field  notes  that  the  landing  was  at  a  point  in 
the  middle  of  the  bend,  lint  the  latter  is  a  spot  where 
it  could  not  have  been  under  any  circumstances,  it  would 
seem,  liecause  of  the  lacl  that  the  bank  is  (ilty  or  si.xty 
feet  high  at  this  point  and  very  precipitous. 

Charlevoi.x  states  that  he  "went  across  the  fields  into 
a  great  prairie."  The  eastern  rim  of  the  prairie  slopes 
to  the  east,  and  with  its  scattering  trees  may  have  been 
what  Charlevoi.x  calls  "the  fields."  He  went  "into  a 
great  prairie;"  not  around  the  southern  edge  of  it  and 
barely  entering  the  prairie  on  its  lower  margin.  He 
states  that  he  encamped  in  "an  extremely  beautiful 
place."  While  we  cannot  tell  where  he  disembarked 
on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Joseph,  since  he  for  a  time 
"walked  along  the  edge  of  the  water, "  so  that  we  do 
not  know  where  to  begin  our  measurements:  yet  the 
next  day  he  went  "a  league  farther  into  the  prairie" 
to  reach  the  very  head  waters  of  the  Kankakee.  So,  if 
we  measure  east  a  Canadian  league  from  the  ponds  at 
the  head  of  Chain  Lakes,  we  will  be  appro.ximately  at 
the  place  where  he  encamped.  This  spot  is  the  high 
land  to  the  north  of  the  Ritter  homestead,  in  Section 
29.  The  high  ground  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Ritter  and 
Jones  homesteads,  near  the  middle  of  the  prairie  from 
north  to  south,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  spots  in 
Northern  Indiana,  commanding  a  view  in  all  directions 
that  never  fails  to  excite  the  admiration  of  the  beholder. 
And  we  are  not  surprised  that  the  poetical  temperament 
of  Charlevoix  should  have  .yielded  itself  unreservedly 
to  the  charms  of  this  locality.     Encamped,  then,  on  the 


.straight  line  joining  the  north  point  of  the  bend  in  the 
St.  Joseph  to  the  ponds  at  the  head  of  Chain  Lakes,  and 
in  the  elevated  locality  to  which  we  have  just  referred, 
he  went  a  league  farther  into  the  prairie.  To  the  west 
of  the  spot  where  he  encamped  the  pathway  is  smooth 
and  gradually  sinks  for  a  half  mile,  "a  regular  toboggan 
slide,"  as  one  has  said,  and  then  maintains  quite  a 
uniform  condition,  skirting  along  the  base  of  low  hills 
lying  on  the  south  and  terminates  in  a  water  hole, 
such  as  occurs  occasionally  in  the  prairie.  Beyond  this 
there  is  an  ascent  of  fifteen  to  eighteen  feet  and  then  a 
level  tract  very  gradually  descending,  until  near  the 
western  extremity  of  the  ancient  prairie  the  line  of  the 
path  emerges  into  the  present  route  of  the  Michigan 
road.  From  this  point  to  the  second  pond,  as  indicated 
on  the  map,  the  course  is  smooth  and  even.  This  second 
pond  is  to  the  south  and  a  very  little  to  the  west  of  the 
Woolverton  house.  This  family  remembers  the  trail 
to  have  reached  from  this  second  pond  to  the  point 
where  the  line  of  the  portage,  as  we  have  indicated  it, 
meets  the  Michigan  road.  Following  the  straight  line 
of  the  portage  path  as  outlined  one  observes,  south  of 
its  western  half,  a  continuous  series  of  hills  and  dales 
heavily  timbered  and  over  which  a  boat  could  be  carried 
only  with  the  greatest  difficulty.  Some  of  the  ponds  are 
situated  in  an  extensive  tract  of  marsh,  or  what  Hennepin 
calls  "  much  quaking  earth."  The  first  pond  lies  in  the 
woods  to  the  south  and  could  have  been  reached  only 
by  making  a  detour  around  the  marsh.  Its  outlet 
runs  north  into  the  second  pond.  The  second  pond  of 
the  series  was  therefore  the  first  one  that  the  traveler 
would  come  to  in  the  line  of  the  path.  Hence  Charle- 
voix states  that  he  "put  his  boat  into  the  second  pond." 
He  further  states  that  the  ponds  were  a  hundred  paces 
in  circumference,  .the  largest  one.  This  would  give  a 
<iiameter  of  about  one  hundred  feet.     The  contour  of 


the  bed  of  the  first  and  the  fourth  ponds  would  seem  to 
fit  this  description.  Tlie  others  are  a  marshy  tract  and 
their  exact  limits  difficult  to  define,  but  are  plainly 
within  the  space  of  three  hundred  paces.  The  outlet 
from  the  last  pond  has  a  very  abrupt  turn,  less  than  a 
right  angle.  Here  one  might  have  broken  a  boat.  The 
connection  between  the  third  and  fourtii  ponds  has 
apparently  been  deepened  and  straightened,  whether 
by  a  modern  or  an  ancient  ditcher  we  are  not  able  to 
affirm. 

LaSalle,  himself,  and  the  English  governor  of  North 
Carolina,  Daniel  Coxe,  both  gave  the  length  of  the  por- 
tage as  two  leagues,  or  4.85  miles.  Mr.  William  M. 
Whitten,  the  well  known  civil  engineer  of  our  city, 
states  that  the  length  of  the  portage  path  as  herewith 
defined  is  very  nearly  4.85  miles. 

The  distance  to  the  accessible  waters  of  the  Kankakee 
in  any  other  part  of  its  course,  measuring  from  the  south 
side  of  the  bend  in  the  St.  Joseph  referred  to  heretofore 
is  in  excess  of  five  and  one-half  miles,  and  going  by  way 
of  the  southernmost  part  of  the  high  land  in  the  prairie, 
is  nearly  six  miles.  It  is  necessary  to  mieasure  to  some 
part  of  this  high  land  in  the  prairie,  because  both  Hen- 
nepin and  Charlevoix  speak  of  the  journey  across  the 
prairie  in  unmistakable  terms.  But  why  should  they 
have  gone  into  the  prairie  at  all,  if  they  wished  to  go  to 
any  spot  on  the  Kankakee  in  the  direction  of  Chess' 
Island?  To  go  into  the  prairie  and  then  turn  at  an 
angle,  almost  a  right  angle  and  go  south,  was  to  add 
greatly  to  the  distance  over  which  the  boats  and  luggage 
must  be  carried.  If  they  wished  to  go  in  the  direction 
of  Chess'  Island,  why  did  they  not  follow  along  the  old 
trail  known  as  the  Crumstown  road?  The  hypoth- 
enuse  of  a  triangle  is  shorter  than  the  sum  of  the  other 
two  sides.  If  they  had  desired  to  go  in  the  direction  of 
Chess'  Island,  they  would  not  have  gone  into  this  prairie 

too 


at  all.  But  we  know  from  both  Hennepin  and  Charle- 
voix that  they  did  go  into  this  prairie  and  that  they 
went  across  it.  Therefore,  the  conclusion  seems  to  us 
unavoidable  that  they  did  not  go  to  Chess'  Island  nor  to 
any  point  in  that  direction. 

In  this  connection,  we  desire  to  call  attention  again  to 
the  fact  that  many  hundreds  of  relics  of  the  stone  age, 
as  well  as  those  characteristic  of  the  French  trade,  have 
been  gathered  in  the  fields  bordering  Chain  Lakes.  They 
are  most  abundant  around  the  lower  Chain  Lake  and  in 
the  field  to  the  east  of  Charlevoix's  ponds.  But  we  have 
never  heard  of  anyone  finding  such  specimens  at  Chess' 
Island  or  in  that  vicinity.  If  the  Miami  town  had 
extended  in  that  direction,  the  evidences  of  their  life 
there  would  now  be  at  hand. 

Furthermore,  it  is  plainly  stated  by  Father  Hennepin 
in  his  account  of  LaSalle's  first  trip,  that  there  was  a 
village  of  Miami  and  other  Indians  "at  the  extremity" 
of  the  prairie  on  the  west  side  and  that  the  Illinois,  or 
Kankakee,  had  its  source  in  that  place.  Since  Henne- 
pin thus  plainly  states  that  the  Kankakee  end  of  the 
portage,  to  which  they  had  gone,  was  situated  on  the 
west  side  of  the  prairie,  why  should  any  one  look  for  it 
at  Chess'  Island,  far  to  the  south  of  the  prairie?  To  do 
so  is  to  take  issue  with  Father  Hennepin. 

It  has  been  supposed  that  only  the  half  of  this  portage 
path  was  in  the  prairie.  But  it  seems  evident  that  all  of 
it,  or  very  nearly  all,  was  in  the  prairie  land.  The  part 
to  the  west  of  the  Kitter  and  Jones  homesteads,  and 
lying  in  Sections  30  of  German  and  25  of  "Warren  town- 
ships, are  within  the  regions  which  the  first  survey  of 
the  Michigan  road  shows  to  have  been  the  original 
western  extension  of  the  prairie,  the  field  notes  of  that 
survey  stating  plainly  that  the  tracts  along  this  line 
were  very  thinly  wooded.  And  the  soil  shows  that  the 
greater  portion  of  the  tract  along  this  western  section 

101 


of  the  portage  path  must -have  been  at  one  time  an  open 
prairie.  The  surface  of  tlie  level  and  higher  ground 
along  the  line  of  the  path  is  covered  with  the  dark.  t\rc\) 
and  heavy  soil  so  characteristic  of  the  prairie.  .Mr. 
William  M.  Whitten,  referred  to,  states  that  he  is 
convinced  from  the  government  survey  maps  and  field 
notes  that  the  western  portion  of  this  portage  patli  must 
have  been  through  a  western  extension  of  the  prairie, 
dotted  with  clumps  of  trees  here  and  there  like  the 
eastern  parts  of  the  prairie.  Thus,  it  seems  clear  that 
the  Miami  town  situated  on  the  ver}'  head  waters  of  the 
Kankakee,  was  also  situated  at  the  "extremity  "  of  this 
prairie  "on  the  west  side,"  as  Hennepin  has  told  us;  and 
that  this  great  Indian  town  extended  to  the  east  as  far 
as  the  high  land  in  the  middle  of  the  prairie. 

The  first  survey  of  the  Michigan  road  laid  out  the 
course  of  that  highway  along  the  line  of  this  ancient 
portage  path,  beginning  at  the  edge  of  the  "Woolverton 
marsh  and  keeping  to  the  path  until  very  near  the  point 
of  the  latter 's  intersection  with  the  present  Niles  road 
and  then  following  that  road  to  South  Bend.  This  is 
significant,  because  it  was  customary  in  the  early  days, 
Avhen  a  new  road  was  surveyed,  to  make  use  of  existing 
highways,  whenever  possible.  Later,  it  was  found  con- 
venient to  cut  otf  this  angle  in  the  Michigan  road  by 
using  the  line  as  now  established. 

On  his  map  of  the  county  published  in  1803,  the  late 
Mr.  M.  W.  Stokes  has  shown  these  ponds  and  the  con- 
tiguous marsh  as  a  lake,  to  which  he  gives  the  name  of 
Beaver  lake.  The  drainage  of  the  surrounding  territory 
sometimes  fills  the  basin  of  this  marsh  with  a  shallow 
lake  during  the  early  spring.  But  when  these  waters 
have  subsided,  there  still  remains  the  little  ponds  on  the 
south  side  supplied  by  perennial  springs  under  the 
adjacent  hills.  The  place  was  well  called  Beaver  lake, 
for  here   were  the   perfect   conditions  of   the  beaver's 


honiL'.  LaHontan,  a  French  traveler  of  the  LaSalle 
period,  shows  in  his  map  that  there  was  a  large  beaver 
town  in  the  spot  where  the  Kankakee  took  its  rise.  See 
"Winsor's  "Cartier  to  Frontenac." 

The  usual  condition  of  the  loose,  saturated  soil  of  the 
marsh  to  the  west  of  South  Bend  has  been  such  for  ages 
that  no  ordinary  boat  could  be  forced  through  the  stag- 
nant pools  of  mud,  the  rank  growths  of  reeds  and  tufted 
grasses.  Much  less  could  any  passage  be  found  for  the 
frail  bark  canoe;  for,  it  must  be  remembered  that  a 
birch  bark  canoe,  such  as  was  in  general  use  here  in 
ancient  times,  could  not  safely  be  pushed  or  pulled 
through  a  marshy  bog,  unless  such  canoe,  be  entirely 
relieved  of  any  contents,  and  even  then,  this  rough 
treatment  would  be  hazardous.  A  boat  made  of  solid 
timber  submits  to  such  usage  without  serious  hurt, 
but  a  loaded  birch  bark  canoe  will  spring  aleak  where 
the  water  is  not  deep  enough  to  keep  it  afloat.  These 
conditions  of  themselves  will  explain  why  the  Indians 
and  the  early  explorers  carried  their  canoes  across  the 
prairie  and  made  no  attempt  to  force  a  passage  to  the 
Kankakee  through  the  marsh  to  the  south  of  the  prairie. 
Stanfield  lake  lying  immediately  west  of  South  Bend, 
in  Section  9,  Portage  township,  is  sometimes  spoken  of 
as  the  Kankakee  end  of  the  portage  by  those  who  do  not 
understand  that  its  waters  are  tributary  to  the  St.  Joseph. 
That  this  lake  never  has  been  the  source  of  the  Kanka- 
kee, is  shown  by  the  fact  that  its  waters  cannot  be  made 
to  flow  in  the  direction  of  that  stream,  although  exten- 
sive ditching  has  been  done  for  that  purpose.  This  is 
because  the  watershed  lies  to  the  south  of  that  lake. 
The  elevation  thus  separating  the  drainage  is  indeed  so 
low  that  it  is  not  apparent  to  the  eye;  nevertheless,  it 
it  is  very  effective.  The  local  conditions  are  curiously 
illustrated  in  one  of  the  ditches  crossing  the  watershed 
from  north  to  south.     This  ditch  receives  a  tributary  at 

103 


tlic  \t>ry  dividiiii:'  line  cif  the  watershed,  :md  tin-  result 
is  tliat  the  waters  discliarged  by  this  tributary  divide 
at  its  mouth,  part  flowing?  north  for  the  Great  Lakes  and 
part  south  for  the  Mississippi.  He  who  witnesses  the 
gentle  adieu  at  the  parting  of  this  tiny  tide,  will  yield  a 
moment's  thought  to  the  distant  and  diverse  fates  in 
store  for  the  divided  current. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year,  the  freshets  might  occasion- 
all}' have  covered  the  upper  Kankakee  marsh  with  water, 
and  it  seems  not  at  all  improbable  that  under  such  con- 
ditions the  portage  might  sometimes  have  been  made- 
by  way  of  the  Brookfield  landing  and  a  point  on  the 
marsh  very  near  the  Kaley  farm,  in  Section  3,  Portage 
township.  Such  a  portage  would  have  been  less  than 
two  miles  long.  And  they  might  have  found  a  still 
shorter  cut  to  this  same  spot  on  the  marsh,  by  going  up 
the  St.  Joseph  a  little  farther.  But  such  a  portage 
could  have  been  used  only  when  the  water  covered  the 
entire  marsh  or  continuous  portions  of  it  reaching  to  the 
channel  of  the  Kankakee  river.  Yet,  such  conditions 
would  seldom  be  found  and  would  then  last  but  for  a 
day.  It  seems,  however,  that  LaSalle  refers  to  some- 
thing like  this  short  portage  by  saying  that  it  is  "two 
leagues  long  when  the  waters  are  low,"  implying  that 
the  portage  may  be  shorter  when  the  waters  are  high, 
as  during  the  spring  freshets. 

Therefore,  in  view  of  the  facts  as  set  forth,  we  con- 
clude that  the  portage  path  from  the  St.  Joseph  to  the 
Kankakee,  used  in  ancient  times  by  the  Indians  and  by 
LaSalle  and  later  by  the  French  inhabitants,  was  a 
straight  line  from  the  north  side  of  the  most  westerly 
bend  of  the  St.  Joseph  in  German  township  and  extend- 
ing to  the  little  ponds  in  Section  25,  Warren  township, 
ponds  still  to  be  seen  on  the  south  margin  of  the  marsh 
land  of  the  Woolverton  estate  and  which  are  located 
just  north  of  Chain  Lakes  and  are  connected  therewith. 


Much  interest  attaches  to  the  two  red  cedars  of  gigantic 
size  standing  one  at  either  extremity  of  tlie  bend  in  the 
St.  Joseph  from  wliich  the  portage  path  sets  out.  They 
are  of  great  age  and  have  witnessed  mucli  more  than 
the  historic  events  that  have  made  the  locality  famous. 
The  one  on  the  north  side  is  now  only  a  stump,  but  that 
at  the  south  point  still  flourishes  in  lusty  vigor.  The 
attempt  has  been  made  to  show  that  the  cedar  at  the 
south  point  exhibits  one  of  the  crosses  made  by  Father 
Ribourde  for  LaSalle's  guidance,  and  that  such  a  mark 
would  consequently  locate  the  portage  landing  in  its 
vicinity. 

The  tree  selected  for  blazing  in  ancient  times,  as  well 
as  in  our  own,  has  naturally  been  one  with  a  trunk  free 
from  limbs  or  foliage  that  might  obstruct  the  view,  such 
a  tree  as  the  oak.  walnut,  ash  or  cherry;  that  is,  where 
these  trees  could  be  found,  and  they  were  always  numer- 
ous here.  It  is  true,  the  lower  limbs  of  this  cedar  have 
been  removed;  but  this  removal  took  place  within  the 
life  time  of  the  present  generation,  as  may  be  seen  from 
the  condition  of  their  stumps.  So  far  as  the  evidence 
goes,  this  tree  was  not  only  of  a  kind  such  as  would  be 
least  apt  to  receive  a  blaze  mark,  but  its  trunk  was 
practically  invisible  in  LaSalle's  day. 

Then,  again,  while  the  trunk  of  this  cedar  has  been 
hacked  by  many  a  careless  axe,  yet  none  of  these  ott'enses 
against  its  noble  dignity,  resembles  in  any  way  a  cross, 
nor  even  an  Iroquois  bark  peeling,  nor  yet  a  modern 
surveyor's  blazing. 

And  as  for  the  age  of  these  wounds,  not  one  of  them 
is  older  than  people  still  living,  as  may  be  demonstrated 
by  the  layers  of  woody  growth  at  the  margin  of  the 
wounds,  where  any  growth  at  all  is  to  be  found.  The 
only  one  of  these  indiscriminate  hacks  thought  to  have 
any  significance  is  found  by  digging  in  the  sands  washed 
around  the  tree  from  the  bank  and  is  located  at  the  base 

10.T 


of  the  irunk.  Nor  does  this  particular  mark  ditlcr  in 
character  from  the  others:  for,  it  in  no  way  looks  like  a 
cross  or  bla/.e  of  any  kind  and  it  is  of  recent  origin,  as 
shown  by  the  condition  of  the  exposed  wood  and  the 
ialirr's  nearness  to  the  present  surface  of  the  tree. 

Furthermore,  this  scar  at  the  base  of  the  tree  is  located 
on  the  side  of  tlic  tree  turned  toward  the  very  high  and 
precipitous  bank,  whose  protecting  shade  has  made 
possible  this  gigantic  cedar.  The  tree  grew  originally 
from  the  side  of  the  bank,  but  a  few  years  ago,  the  latter 
washed  out  near  by  and  the  sand  has  filled  in  around 
the  tree  and  between  it  and  the  old  bank,  lieneath  this 
filling  and  between  it  and  the  bank  and  at  the  base  of 
the  trunk  is  this  scar.  It  could  never  have  been  seen 
by  any  one  at  the  top  of  the  bank,  nor  by  any  one  passing 
between  the  tree  and  the  water,  nor  could  it  have  been 
seen  at  all,  unless  some  one  should  take  the  pains  to 
pick  his  uncomfortable  way  between  the  tree  and  the 
steeply  sloping  bank.  Had  one  of  Father  Ribourde"s 
crosses  been  hidden  away  in  such  a  place,  it  must  surely 
have  escaped  even  the  (juick  eye  of  LaSalle. 
*        *         * 

Near  the  south  terminus  of  this  historic  bend  in  our 
river,  is  a  ford  similar  to  the  one  on  the  north  side.  This 
spot  also  is  a  place  of  interest,  for  here  one  of  the  great 
Indian  trails  crossed  the  river.  The  trail  comes  to  the 
river  flats  through  the  old  time  defile  a  few  rods  to  the 
east.  Starting  at  the  ford,  the  path  is  still  easy  to  follow 
as  far  as  the  point  where  it  intersects  with  the  Niles 
road  near  the  residence  of  Mr.  James  Ray.  It  is  easily 
followed  through  the  Jackson  woods,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  road,  and  traces  of  it  occur  on  several  farms 
to  the  south.  It  comes  to  the  Michigan  road  at  the  east 
side  of  the  Kaley  farm  and  then  skirts  the  south  side  of 
the  hill  so  conspicuous  on  that  estate.  Thereafter,  its 
course  is  indicated  by  openings  in  the  occasional  timber 


tracts  as  far  as  Cram's  Point  and  on  through  IjaPurte 
county.  This  trail  parallels  the  Kankakee  river  and  is 
the  one  over  which  the  Pottawattomiesof  the  Kankakee 
and  the  Illinois  country,  and  many  others  as  well,  came 
to  old  Fort  St.  Joseph.  After  crossing  our  river  at  this 
ford,  the  trail  forked,  one  arm  constituting  the  well 
known  path  following  the  east  side  of  the  river  to  old 
Fort  St.  Joseph,  and  the  other  finally  taking  the  line  of 
the  present  Edwardsburg  road.  At  Edwardsburg,  this 
old  highway  struck  the  famous  Sauk  trail  to  Detroit 
and  Maiden,  Canada.  The  present  Edwardsburg  road 
on  the  east  and  the  Crumstown  road  on  the  west  mark 
the  line  of  this  trail.  And  the  meanders  of  the  present 
road  in  each  case  well  define  the  crooks  in  the  ancient 
path.  But  the  white  man's  road  is  the  trail  itself  only 
in  places.  The  Indian's  path  was  always  in  the  low 
ground  and  the  defiles  between  the  hills,  when  such 
places  of  concealment  were  within  convenient  reach. 
The  very  route  of  his  path  tells  the  story  of  fear  and 
danger.  The  white  man's  wagon  followed  the  direction 
of  the  trail  but  found  that  the  path  itself  afforded  a  less 
agreeable  passage  than  the  rising  ground  near  by. 
"When  the  present  Crumstown  and  Edwardsburg  roads 
were  first  used,  the  adjacent  woods  were  still  open,  the 
recent  fires  of  the  Indian  having  kept  down  the  under- 
growth. Hence  a  roadway  at  that  time  could  be  broken 
on  the  higher  ground  almost  at  will,  and  the  preference 
then  was  to  keep  near  the  trail  but  not  in  it.  So  if  one 
would  find  moccasin  footprints,  he  must  look  through 
the  native  forest,  first  on  this  side  of  the  road  and  then 
on  that.  Just  to  the  south  of  Chamberlain's  lake,  in 
Warren  township,  and  not  far  from  the  Chamberlain 
house,  is  one  of  these  open  defiles  through  the  native 
forest,  a  fragment  of  this  ancient  path.  One  can  scarcely 
convince  himself  that  sixty  years  have  passed  since  its 


use  forever  ceased,  so  clearly  defined  is  its  coursi'  ami 
so  free  from  ve<;etation  of  the  larger  growth. 

This  Crumslowii  irail  and  road  are  dwelt  upon  here. 
because  such  has  been  supposed  by  many  to  have  been 
the  route  of  the  ancient  portage.  That  il  was  a  promi- 
nent route  of  the  portage  in  modern  times  (here  can  be 
no  doubt,  for  many  are  still  living  who  have  seen  the 
boats  hauled  along  this  line.  The  boats  were  sometimes 
put  into  the  Kankakee  at,  or  near.  Chess'  Island,  and 
sometimes  were  taken  as  far  as  Crum's  Point  where  the 
road  crosses  the  Grapevine.  Such  was  Brookfield's 
portage.  But  this  could  not  have  been  the  ancient  por- 
tage path,  since  it  does  not  enter  the  prairie,  but  lies  deep 
in  the  woodland  throughout  its  entire  length.  After 
Brookfield's  time,  the  St.  Joseph  end  of  the  portage  was 
moved  still  farther  up  the  river  and  sometimes  left  the 
St.  Joseph  at  places  now  in  the  very  heart  of  South 
Bend.  The  use  of  horses  and  wagons  made  this  increased 
length  of  the  portage  a  matter  of  little  consequence. 


108 


Designed  and  dnnvii  for  this  work  by  Arthur  Thomas.  N.  Y. 
THE    LAST    OF    HIS    TRIBE. 


GENERAL   JOHN    S.   CLARK  S    LETTERS. 

"Auburn,  N.  Y.,  Dec.  11,  189.5. 
"Dear  Sir: — 

Your  note  of  the  9th  inst.  received.  Your 
question  is  somewhat  difficult  to  answer.  Several  ditt'er- 
ent  standards  were  in  use  among  the  French  :  The 
liene  de  poste,  equal  to  2.42  miles;  the  Uene  moyenne,  equal 
to  2.7G  miles;  and  the  liene  geographique,  3.33  English 
miles.  I  have  made  it  a  practice  for  several  years  to 
estimate  the  leagues  of  LaSalle  and  Champlain  as  of  2^ 
miles,  with  most  excellent  results,  while  the  estimate  of 
3  English  miles  invariably  leads  astray.  I  am  unable  to 
give  any  reliable  information  as  to  the  French  fathom. 
In  a  correspondence  with  the  Superintendent  of  the 
Coast  Survey  several  years  since,  in  relation  to  LaSalle 's 
operations  in  the  vicinity  of  Pass  Carullo,  Texas,  in 
which  the  question  of  the  depths  of  the  several  bays 
was  involved,  the  question  was  not  raised  of  a  difTerence 
between  the  French  and  English  fathom.  I  made  the 
point  that  the  depths  of  Espiritu  Santo  Bay,  as  given  by 
LaSalle,  corresponded  substantially  with  the  depths  as 
given  on  the  coast  survey  maps.  I  am  quite  sure  that 
if  any  material  ditt'erence  existed  between  the  two  stand- 
ards, it  would  have  manifested  itself  in  that  corres- 
pondence. I  was  not  aware  that  any  question  could  be 
raised  as  to  the  portage  between  the  St.  Joseph  and 
Kankakee.  The  accounts  of  Hennepin  and  LaSalle 
appear  to  be  very  clear  and  definite  on  that  point. 
"Very  respectfully, 

"Your  obt.  servant, 
"Mr.  Chas.  F.  Rartlett,  "John  S.  Olark." 

"South  Bend,  Ind  " 

109 


••Arm  i!N.   N.  Y.,  Dec.  2i),  ]8!).j. 
••|)(';m'  Sir:— 

^'()UI■s  (if  llic  Mill  rcccixt'd.  1  lind  hy  rcl'cr- 
cnci'  to  si'vi'ral  old  French  maps  Ihal  I  have,  notably 
those  of  D'Anville,  that  several  differeiit  leaj^ues  are 
described,  French,  Spanish,  etc.,  from  which  I  select 
the  followinff: — 
French  League,  .3,000  paces,  2,500  Toises,  20  to  a  degree. 

League  Marine 2,8.10         "      20  to  a  degree. 

League  Commune,    .     .     .     2.000         "     I.eagueduPost 
League  Canadian,      .     .     .     2.000 
League  in  hours  on  the  road,  L.IOO 

"The  French  Toise  or  Fathom  was  70.735  English 
inches,  consequently  the  league  common  or  League  du 
Post  was  equal  to  2.42219  English  miles,  and  this  was 
undoubtedly  the  league  in  common  use  and  designated 
as  the  League  Canadian. 

"The  present  English  standards  of  measure  were  estab- 
lished in  the  year  1439  and  were:  1  English  mile  equals 
826  Toises,  1760  yards,  5280  feet,  consequently  the  Toise 
English  or  fathom  was  77.707  Englixh  inches,  a  small  frac- 
tion of  an  inch  less  than  the  French  Toise;  and  this  was 
the  relative  standard  two  hundred  years  ago.  Previous 
to  1439,  the  English  standards  were  as  follows: — 
English  foot  equal  to  13.22  inches, 
yard  "  .39.06 

fathom         "  79.32 

chain  "  793.20 

furlong         "  7932.00 

mile  "         79320.00  in.  or  6,610  ft. 

"The  common  League  of  France  was  never  2,400  fath- 
oms, Bougainville  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

"Very  respectfully, 
"Mr.  Chas.  H.  Bartlett.  ",Tohn  S.  Clakk." 

"South  Bend,  Ind." 

110 


TOXTY  S    LETTER. 

Decouvertes  et  t'tiihlissements  des  Fran^ais  dans 
rOuest  et  dans  le  sud  de  I'Amerique  Septentrionale 
(1()14-1754).  —  Memoires  publics  par  Pierre  Marsry. — 
I.  581. 

Relation  written  from  Quebec.  Nov.  14,  1GS4.  by 
Henri  de  Tonty.— [First  trip,  1679  ] 

.  .  .  "He  (LaSalle)  sent  me  the  order  to  turn  back, 
and  December  6  we  took  the  route  of  the  Illinois  after 
having  ascended  the  river  of  the  Miamis  about  twenty- 
seven  leagues  [65^  miles],  and  having  nobody  who  could 
guide  us  to  find  a  portage  which  goes  to  the  river  of  the 
Illinois.  M.  de  LaSalle  walked  by  land  with  the  inten- 
tion of  finding  me.  Night  came  upon  us  and  we  took 
shelter;  but  M.  de  LaSalle,  being  entangled  between  a 
swamp  and  firm  ground,  was  obliged  to  make  the  tour. 
Having  seen  a  fire,  he  went  to  it,  hoping  to  find  some 
savages  and  get  shelter  with  them.  He  cried  out  like  a 
savage,  but  finding  that  no  one  answered  him,  he  entered 
the  brushwood  where  the  aforesaid  fire  was.  He  found 
nobody,  and  it  was  surely  the  hut  of  a  warrior  who  had 
been  afraid  of  him.  He  lay  down  there  with  two  fire- 
brands before  him.  Although  it  was  very  cold  and  even 
snowed,  he  joined  me  the  next  day.  There  arrived  also 
a  savage  hunter  of  LaSalle 's,  who  told  us  that  the  peo- 
ple whom  I  had  left  hunting  were  waiting  lor  us  at  the 
portage,  which  was  two  leagues  [4.85  miles]  below  us. 
The  portage  found  and  our  people  reassembled,  that 
caused  us  great  joy." 


Ill 


LA    SALl.K  8    LETTER. 

Lettrps  (le  Cavalier  de  LaSalle  vt  corrcspuiulence 
relative  a  ses  entreprisos. — (In  Mar<;:ry"s  Decouvertes, 
etc.,  I.  IS.'),  127.)     [Second  visit.] 

Relation  of  tlie  voyage  of  LuSalle  from  tin;  2'2d  Aug.. 
1G80,  to  the  autumn  of  108J. 

"They  stopped  me.  ne\erlheless,  at  Missiilimakinak, 
for  lack  of  provision.s,  and  having  .secured  some  by 
means  of  brandy,  I  left  there  October  4.  Winds  and  rain 
were  so  frecjuent  that  we  could  not  reach  the  river  of 
the  Miamis  until  November  4 

"Having  ascended  the  river  of  the  Miamis,  we  arrived 
at  their  village  the  15th.  There  was  nobody  there.  We 
went  ui)  a  little  higher,  to  the  portage  by  which  one 
goes  to  that  of  the  Illinois,  where  we  found  their  camp, 
whence  they  had  gone  eight  or  ten  days  before  to  follow 
the  remainder  of  the  Illinois,  of  whose  defeat  by  the  Iro- 
quois they  had  learned.  The  17th,  having  made  the 
portage,  which  is  two  leagues  [4.85  miles]  long  when 
the  waters  are  low,  we  arrived  the  23d,  by  descending 
the  river  of  Teakiki,  at  a  place  called  la  Fourche  des 
Irociuois  (the  Fork  of  the  IrtMjuois). "  .... 


112 


HENNEPIN  S   LETTER. 

NoLivelle  Decouverte  d"un  Pays  plus  grands  que 
I'Europe  situe  dans  I'Amerique.  —  [By  Louis  Hennepin.] 

Chapter  XX.  Embarkation  at  the  Fort  of  the  Miamis 
to  go  to  the  river  of  the  Illinois.      [First  trip,  1670.] 

"We  embarked  the  third  of  December  in  eight  boats,  in 
number  thirty  men  and  three  Recollet  missionaries.  We 
left  the  lake  of  the  Illinois  and  went  up  the  river  of  the 
Miamis,  which  we  had  already  visited.  We  took  our  route 
to  the  southeast  for  about  twenty-five  leagues  [60^  miles] , 
and  could  not  discover  the  portage  which  we  ought  to 
make  with  our  boats  and  all  the  equipage  to  go  and 
embark  at  the  source  of  the  river  of  the  Illinois 

"We  had  then  gone  up  with  our  boats  too  far  into  this 
river  of  the  Miamis  without  discovering  the  place  where 
we  ought  to  go  by  land  to  take  the  source  of  this  river 
which  flows  to  the  Illinois 

"The  next  day  I  put  myself  with  two  of  our  men  into 
a  light  boat  to  make  more  speed  in  searching  for  it  by 
reascending  the  river;  but  we  did  not  find  it 

"Our  savage  had  remained  behind  to  hunt.  Not  find- 
ing us  at  the  portage,  which  we  had  passed,  he  went  up 
higher  and  came  to  tell  us  we  must  descend  the  river.  .  . 

"The  next  day  we  joined  our  people  at  the  portage, 
where  Father  Gabriel  had  made  several  crosses  on  the 
trees  to  make  us  recognize  it  more  readily 

"This  place  is  situated  on  the  border  of  a  large  field, 
at  the  extremity  of  which,  on  the  west  side,  there  is  a 
village  of  Miamis,  Mascouteins  and  Oiatinons  gathered 
together.  The  river  of  the  Illinois  has  its  source  in  this 
place  in  a  field  in  the  midst  of  much  shaking  earth,  on 
which  one  can  scarcely  walk.  The  source  of  this  river  is 
only  a  league  and  a  half  [3.63^  miles]  from  that  of  the 
Miamis;  so  we  transported  all  our  equipage  with  our 
boats  by  a  road  that  we  made  for  the  accommodation  of 
those  who  should  come  after  us." 

113 


i)AMi;i.  (  ti\  !■.  >   i.i:  I  I  Ki;. 

A  Di'scriiii  iiiii  uT  llic  I'jii^lisli  I*i-u\  incr  nl'  (';i  nplmia, 
etc.,  by  Daniel  Cdxc  (In  l-'iTiich's  1 1  islorical  Collrc- 
t  ions  of  lA)ui.siana. ) 

.  .  .  .  "Near  llip  holtoin  of  llii' liay.  on  ilie  oast  sido,  is 
tlic  fair  rivor  of  llic  Miainihas  (so  called  Ijocauso  upon  il 
lives  pari  of  a  nation  bearing  the  same  name),  which  in 
its  passage  comes  within  two  leagues  of  the  great  east- 
erly branch  of  the  river  of  the  Allinonecks,  and  its 
springs  are  very  near  I  hi'  heads  of  some  rivers  wliicli 
enter  the  Ouabachi.  '" 


CIIAKLEVOIX  S    I;ETTEK. 

-Iiiunial   d'nn    Voyage    dans    rAmerii|ne    Sepimtrio- 
nale;  Addresse  a  Madame  la  Duchesse  de   Lesdiguieres. 
Par  C.  P.  de  Charlevoix.— Tom.  VI.,  pp.  103-105. 
Twenty-sixth  Letter. 

"On  the  source  of  the  Theakiki, 
the  ITth  of  September,  1721. 
"Madam: — 

I  did  not  expect  to  take  my  pen  again  so  soon 
to  write  to  you:  but  my  guides  have  just  broken  their 
boat,  and  here  I  am,  delayed  for  a  whole  day  in  a  place 
where  I  find  nothing  to  excite  the  curiosity  of  a  traveler; 
so  I  have  nothing  better  to  do  than  to  yield  myself  to  the 
pleasure  of  talking  with  you. 

"I  believe  I  made  you  understand  in  my  last  that  I  had 
two  routes  to  choose  between  for  reaching  the  Illinois: 
the  first  was  to  return  to  Lake  Michigan,  to  follow  along 
its  southern  coast  and  to  enter  the  little  river  of  Chica- 
gou.  After  having  ascended  it  five  or  six  leagues,  one 
passes  into  that  of  the  Illinois  by  means  of  two  portages, 
the  longer  of  which  is  only  five  quarter  leagues  [3  miles] ; 
but  as  this  river  is,  however,  only  a  brook  at  this  i)lace, 
I  was  warned  that  at  this  season  I  should  not  find  in  it 
enough  water  for  my  boat;  therefore,  I   took  the  other 


route,  whicli,  indeed,  has  also  its  inconveniences,  and  is 
not  nearly  as  a.^reeahle;   but  it  is  surer. 

'■I  left  yesterday  the  Fort  of  St.  Joseph  river,  and  I 
ascended  this  river  about  six  leagues  [\-U  miles].  I  dis- 
embarked on  the  rijiht,  walked  five  quarter  leagues  [3 
miles],  first  following  the  edge  of  the  water,  then  across 
the  fields  into  a  great  prairie  all  sprinkled  with  little 
tufts  of  woodland,  which  have  a  very  beautiful  effect;  it 
is  called  la  Prairie  de  la  Tete  de  B(nif{Ox  Head's  Prairie), 
because  there  was  found  there,  so  they  say,  an  ox's  head 
which  was  monstrous  in  size.  Why  may  there  not  have 
been  giants  among  these  animals  also?  I  encamped  in 
an  extremely  beautiful  place  called  le  Fort  des  Renards 
(Foxes  Fort),  because  the  Foxes,  the  Outagamis,  had 
there,  not  long  ago,  a  village  fortified  in  their  way. 

"This  morning  I  went  a  league  [2.42  miles]  farther 
into  the  prairie,  my  feet  almost  constantly  in  water,  then 
I  found  a  sort  of  pond,  which  communicates  with  sev- 
eral others  of  different  sizes,  the  largest  of  which  is  only 
a  liundred  paces  in  circuit.  These  are  the  sources  of  a 
river  called  the  Theakiki,  which  by  corruption  our  Can- 
adians name  Kiakiki.  Theak  means  a  wolf,  I  no  longer 
recall  in  what  language,  but  this  river  bears  that  name 
because  the  Mahingans,  who  are  also  called  the  Wolves, 
formerly  took  refuge  there. 

"We  put  our  boat,  which  two  men  had  carried  up  to 
this  point,  into  the  second  of  these  sources,  and  wo 
embarked:  but  we  had  scarcely  enough  water  to  keep 
afloat.  Ten  men  would  make  in  two  days  a  straight 
and  navigable  canal,  which  would  sa\e  much  trouble, 
and  ten  or  twelve  leagues  of  road;  for  the  river  at  its 
issue  from  its  source  is  so  narrow,  and  it  is  necessary 
continually  to  turn  so  sliarply,  that  at  each  instant  one 
is  in  danger  (if  breaking  his  boat,  as  has  just  happerjed 
to  us." 


MARQUETTE'S   LAST    JOURNEY. 

It  has  been  disputed  that  LaSalle  was  the  firsi  of  I  he 
discoverers  to  visit  the  St.  Joseph-Kankakee  portajre. 
Tilt'  honor  has  been  claimed  for  .Mar(|uetle,  solely  on  the 
i;round  that  the  historian  Shea  states  that  Manpiette.  on 
his  last  journey,  ''seems  to  have  taken  the  way  by  the  St. 
Joseph  river.  "  iiul  Dr.  Shea  does  not  give  any  authority 
for  his  supposition,  nor  could  he  supply  such  evidence. 

Mr.  R.  G.  Thwailes,  of  the  State  Historical  Society  of 
Wisconsin,  translator  and  editor  of  the  "Jesuit  Rela- 
tions," novv  being  issued  in  thirty  or  more  volumes,  says, 
in  a  letter  to  the  writer  April  2Gth,  1897,  "Marquette, 
u[)on  his  last  journey,  undoubtedly  returned  north  by 
way  of  the  Illinois-Chicago  portage." 

Mr.  Thwaites  is  the  highest  authority  in  the  world  on 
all  historical  matters  pertaining  to  the  early  Jesuit  mis- 
sionaries. We  are  not  surprised  that  he  should  declare 
himself  as  above,  for  Father  Dablon,  in  his  "Relation," 
on  the  death  of  Marquette,  referring  to  the  hitter's 
return  journey,  says  that  "he  was  obliged  to  take  the 
southern  side  of  the  lake,  having  gone  thither  by  the 
northern."  And  Charlevoix's  Journal,  in  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  spot  where  Marquette  died,  declares  that  he 
came  to  the  place  "from  Chicagou."  Father  Allouez 
has  told  us  that  the  Illinois  Indians  helped  Marquette  to 
reach  the  lake;  and  if,  as  Charlevoix  states,  he  came  to 
the  lake  at  Chicago,  we  may  rest  assured  that  they  did 
not  take  him  back  again  over  the  Chicago  portage  and 
down  the  Desplaines  to  the  mouth  of  the  Kankakee,  from 
which  they  had  just  brought  him.  Having  once  reached 
the  stream  and  place  called  Chicago,  it  is  all  but  impos- 
sible that  a  sick  man  in  his  condition  should  have  turned 
back  over  his  course  to  come  around  by  these  unknown 
rivers,  the  Kankakee  and  the  St.  Joseph.  As  Charlevoix 
has  stated,  he  started  oai  his  last  journey  "from  Chi- 
cagou," and  proceeded,  as  Uablon  has  told  us,  "by  the 
southern  side  of  the  lake." 

116 


THE    PORTAGE   ON   THE   MAP. 

If  one  will  moasure  llio  distance  from  point  B  on  the 
map  herewith  to  any  point  at  the  south  or  the  east  mar- 
gin of  Chess'  Island,  and  will  then  lay  off  an  equal  dis- 
tance due  west,  he  will  obscrxe  that  the  distance  to 
Chess'  Island  exceeds  that  to  the  head  of  Chain  Lakes 
by  more  than  a  mile.  And  if  the  same  person  will  turn 
to  the  map  on  page  20  of  Mr.  George  A.  Baker's  pam- 
phlet on  the  St.  .loseph-Kankakee  portage,  and  will 
measure  from  the  angle  in  Charlevoi.x's  path  to  the  land- 
ing place  on  the  Kankakee  as  indicated  by  Mr. Baker,  and 
will  then  lay  otf  an  equal  distance  in  the  direction  of 
Chain  Lakes,  this  distance  will  be  found  to  reach  far 
beyond  the  lakes  themselves.  Mr.  Baker's  map  itself 
thus  makes  it  plain  that  the  distance  to  the  Charlevoix 
ponds  at  the  head  of  Chain  Lakes  is  truly  t?ie  shortest  dis- 
tance between  the  St.  Joseph  and  the  accessible  waters 
of  the  Kankakee.  When  men  carried  boats  on  their 
shoulders,  they  sought  the  shortest  distance.  When 
they  could  avail  themselves  of  horses  and  wagons,  they 
would  not  hesitate  to  follow  the  line  of  any  of  the  mod- 
ern portages  of  which  the  early  settlers  so  often  speak. 

In  this  same  map,  in  order  to  cut  down  this  excess  of 
distance,  Mr.  Baker  ignores  Parkman's  statement  that 
Charlevoix  has  described  LaSalle's  path,  and  boldly 
defines  the  latter  as  one  entirely  separate  and  distinct. 
As  will  be  seen,  he  allows  LaSalle  to  take  advantage  of 
the  hypothenuse  of  the  triangle.  But  here  another  dif- 
ficulty is  encountered,  for  this  hypothenuse  lies  through 
the  midst  of  the  forest  all  the  way,  and  much  of  this 
forest  is  still  standing,  notably  the  .lackson  woods.  But 
we  know  that  LaSalle  did  not  go  into  the  woods.  The 
fact  is  plainly  shown  in  the  letters  herewith  that  both 
Charlevoix  and  LaSalle's  party  went  into  and  across 
the  prairie  and  found  the  Kankakee  waters  on  the  icest 
side. 


EXPLANATION   OF    MAP. 

A — The  liiiulinu'  at  Ihv  St.  Joscpli  cud  of  portai^c  path. 

B — Probable  site  of  the  Miami  Treaty. 

C — Spot  marked  bj^  Mr.  lirookfield,  where  section  line 
crossed  an  old  road.  The  road  was  the  old  ( 'rums- 
town  trail. 

D — Location  of  five  mounds. 

E — One  of  the  spots  where  remains  of  signal  fires  are 
abundant. 

The  l)raofot)n  Trace  is  the  road  over  which  the  soldiers 
at  Fort  Wayne  were  accustomed  to  pass  in  their  jour- 
neys to  Chicago  during  the  early  part  of  this  century. 
The  strip  of  it  shown  on  the  map  may  have  been  approx- 
imately the  route  taken  by  LaSalle  when  he  was  com- 
pelled "  to  make  the  detour  "  of  the  marsh  in  order  that 
he  might  come  again  to  the  St.  Joseph. 


118 


030.5 
32? 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Santa  Barbara 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW. 


I 


Series  9482 


AA    000  874  826    i 


